A Platform For Better Performance: How Governance Technology Makes Life Easier for Company Secretaries and their Teams a generation ago, workplaces were yet to be transformed by the universal use of email. Looking back, it’s easy to wonder how on earth we got by without it.

More than 20 years on, many boards have yet to experience an equivalent revolution.

Time-poor company secretaries and their teams (if they’re lucky enough to have them) still often follow highly manual processes to produce regular board reporting. Skilled governance professionals shouldn’t be crushed by the burden of laborious production on top of meeting strict deadlines.

A first-hand account

Five years ago, the ASX 100 company I worked for implemented a governance technology platform. As the leader of both the secretariat and the implementation process, I had a vested interest in making the platform a success. The team and the board were cautiously optimistic that it would be beneficial, but the actual impact was bigger than we could have hoped.

INSIGHT:

“Many company secretaries don’t have the luxury of large teams or admin support. The time they spend producing reporting packs is time they can’t spend focusing on real governance issues.”

Most information on governance platforms focuses on their strong security over sensitive board information, and improvements to directors’ preparation and collaboration. Each of those is reason alone to introduce the technology. However, the practical difference they make to governance professionals is equally significant.

HERE’S HOW IT MADE A DIFFERENCE TO OUR TEAM:

Significant time savings – we’re talking days

I’ve yet to meet another company secretary who isn’t stretched for time and resources. Making regular activities like board reporting flow more smoothly and follow a consistent process is one of the biggest ways to get more done. Another is eliminating the tasks that take up a lot of time without contributing a lot of value. Introducing a governance platform helped on both of those fronts.

Smoother internal review

Providing draft reports for the CEO, CFO or General Counsel to review can be like a mini version of the full process. Whether you print individual papers or create a PDF pack, by the time it has been provided to them, the drafts are already out of date. These bottlenecks disappear by giving reviewers immediate and ongoing access to the draft reports online via the platform, while keeping them from directors’ view until they’re ready.

Status at a glance

The dashboard clearly shows which items have been uploaded and uses colour coding to indicate whether they’ve been approved. That puts an end to moving files between folders, renaming them or manually checking whether they’re ready to go.

No more PDF packs

The tedious process needed to create a PDF reporting pack is gone. There’s no lengthy file conversion process. There’s no page numbering to fix. Or bookmarks to add. Or the risk of having to start all over again if there’s a late change. Now, documents can be added to the platform in bulk or as you go, depending on preference.

Fewer delays

Each report can be previewed and approved online individually once it has been finalised, making it clear what’s ready to go and what isn’t. The platform compiles the pack in minutes, so if one paper runs late, it doesn’t hold up the whole process. If a report is late or needs to be amended, it can be added straightaway, without affecting the reports that have already been finalised.

Production time slashed

Whether you go completely online or still print a few board packs or reports here and there, cutting back on printing saves a huge amount of time and a lot of trees. Each board cycle can add up to thousands of pages and hours spent printing, collating and binding the packs. Even using an express courier for delivery, it can easily take half a day from hitting “print” to a director having the pack in their hands.

INSIGHT:

“Not using governance technology is like an accountant using Microsoft Excel to prepare financial reports. You’ll get there eventually, but a specialised system can do it more quickly, easily and accurately, with features you didn’t even know you were missing.”

Ease the squeeze and reduce the risk of errors

Management wants as much time as possible to prepare their board reports. And directors want as much time as possible to read them. The company secretary is squeezed in between, trying to get the packs sent out before the available window of time closes.Everything that runs late or goes wrong eats into their limited time to meet the deadline. That adds additional pressure, which increases the risk of mistakes, and a vicious cycle can quickly develop. Governance technology made it easier for us to prepare earlier in the board reporting cycle. It took the sting out of late changes and delays. And it reduced the risk of errors when time was tight.

Agenda changes

Late changes to the agenda used to result in a flurry of renaming documents, moving file dividers, reprinting papers and frustration. And the higher up the change on the agenda, the bigger the knock-on effect. Now, it’s a drag-and-drop in the platform and it’s done.

Version control

Last-minute changes to papers are often a reality and create the risk of the wrong version of a document being sent to directors. But now it’s easy to replace the document on the platform, while also keeping a clear audit trail of previous versions. If the pack has already been provided to directors, the platform notifies them when new or updated reports are added and enables them to preserve any notes they’ve already made.

Redactions

Permissions to view board reports can be set for a whole pack or for individual documents. It’s much more robust than remembering to remove the relevant pages from the right printed pack, and quicker than having to create a separate PDF file for those people.

Passwords and support

I stopped getting emails and text messages from directors trying to download their papers via email, review them via their annotation apps and remember the password for protected files. There are no bounced emails from large files exceeding server limits. Instead, we and our directors have a seamless process, with external support available 24 hours a day.

Build a higher profile and stronger relationships

The role of the modern company secretary has made a major shift from the chief administrator of old to a valued adviser to the board and contributor to the management team. But many company secretaries still struggle to demonstrate their value to the business.

INSIGHT:

“You’re much more than an administrator. Use a system designed for more than administration.”

One reason is that the ongoing board cycle takes so much time – if company secretaries aren’t preparing for the next meeting, they’re following up from the last one, or sometimes juggling both tasks at once. Second, their credibility can be eroded by the whir of the printer nearby. Their role producing the board packs often pigeonholes company secretaries as the in-house Kwik Kopy, rather than as a source of useful business acumen.

The good news is that governance technology can solve both of those problems.

A streamlined board reporting process gives company secretaries more hours in the day – and more days in the month – to spend adding genuine value. With improved logistics and less administration, there’s more time to focus on the quality of what’s actually being reported. That means drafting effective resolutions, reviewing key messages, and considering the risks and implications of both what has been said – and what has been left out.

Equally important, it also means more time to partner with operational and support functions to implement governance solutions that help them achieve their business goals. The stronger crossfunctional relationships that result can lead to better collaboration on board reporting, in a cycle that’s rewarding for company secretaries, management and boards.

Governance technology still delivers improvements

It’s easy to see the benefits of governance technology compared to an entirely manual process. But a lot of boards already use tablets and receive their papers by email. Does it really make a difference?

IN SHORT, YES.

Before we began, more than half our board used iPads. We sent out reporting packs via email, followed by printed copies for the directors who wanted them as well – most of them. We had a documented process for board reporting, clear deadlines and consistent templates.

Not using governance technology is like an accountant using Microsoft Excel to prepare financial reports. You’ll get there eventually, but a specialised system can do it more quickly, easily and accurately, with features you didn’t even know you were missing.

Unleashing the value of information. Securely.

Diligent helps the world’s leading organisations unleash the power of information and collaboration – securely – by equipping their boards and management teams to make better decisions. Over 12,000 clients in more than 90 countries rely on Diligent for immediate access to their most time-sensitive and confidential information, along with the tools to review, discuss and collaborate on it with key decision-makers. Diligent Boards expedites and simplifies how board materials are produced and delivered via iPad, Windows devices and browsers. At the same time, Diligent Boards delivers practical advantages like cutting production costs, supporting sustainability goals, and saving administrative and IT time for leaders around the world.

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