FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Over the last 12 months many aspects of the Health and Safety (H&S) legislation for the New Zealand workplace has changed significantly, with the Health and Safety Reform Bill passed by Parliament and officially coming into effect on the 4^th of April, 2016. So what are some of the key changes and how will they impact Kiwi businesses, particularly SMEs?

How do you go about deciding who should be on an advisory board for a SME business? This is something we frequently get asked, and it is a crucial element because if you get it wrong, then you won’t see the benefits that come from having a good governance framework in place.

For every business to grow, whether big or small, good governance is essential. There is no shortage to the benefits of what a governing board can bring to an organisation, but here are our top five.

The end of the year, the start, and somewhere in the middle… these seem to be the preferred times that businesses look to work on their strategic plan. The unfortunate reality is that most SMEs only revisit their strategic plan once a year at best, which is simply not enough.

For many businesses annual general meetings can be a wasted opportunity. We've been engaged to lead several AGMs and make them fit for purpose by reshaping a traditionally informative meeting into one that acknowledges the future direction of the organisation.

In 1989 the sequel to this headline movie Marty McFly took another time warp in his beloved DeLorean, this time to the year 2015. Now that 2015 has arrived, what predictions have come true, or perhaps more interestingly, if we crystal ball the next three years what can we likely forecast? 

Advisory board or board of directors? Matt Bellingham successfully acts for both, but believes what business owners should really be asking is, “what distinguishes a high performing board from one that simply lacks impact?”

For many business owners one of the drivers for being in business is the financial return. It is the reward for the risk you take and the effort you put in. But how much money can you draw out of a business without starving it of its lifeblood? Mike Atkinson guides owners through how to keep their paycheque in check.

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A tailored, low cost governance programme such as an advisory board may not solve the world’s problems, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction. Aaron Wallace offers some important good governance guidelines to business owners who want to get it right. 

New Zealand SMEs have often discounted corporate governance as expensive or complex without fully understanding the benefits this leadership discipline brings. But, as Aaron Wallace reports, good governance is now becoming a pillar of market-leading organisations.