Improving Director Effectiveness – ICSA Meeting October 2013

With increasing demands on director’s time, electronic board portals have rapidly become a popular way to increase board effectiveness, according to Ian Beth of Computershare Governance Services.

Addressing the quarterly meeting of ICSA’s Essex branch at Tolhurst Fisher’s dedicated commercial centre in Chelmsford, Ian explained the many benefits such technology brings. 

 

Recent survey evidence has shown that an average board pack weighs in at almost 200 pages, with some topping 1,000 pages.  Since a director spends an average of just 3 hours digesting each pack, more efficient use of this time can pay huge dividends.

Whether this is through electronic signatures, simple cross referencing, increased security, or just easing the administrative burden through a better process, the advantages are clear to see.  Ultimately, such benefits can only increase board effectiveness.

Commenting on the issues raised, Edward Garston, Corporate Solicitor at Tolhurst Fisher LLP observed “For a busy board of directors, any benefits that can be achieved through technology must be welcomed”.

For more information on board procedures please contact our commercial department by emailing commercial@tolhurstfisher.com for further information.