Governance Management

Oakleigh has extensive experience in Governance Management and has provided advice to a wide range of organisations - including charities, not-for-profit organisations, government departments and its agencies.

Governance Management is a multi-faceted subject that deals with issues of accountability and fiduciary duty, essentially advocating the implementation of guidelines and mechanisms to ensure good behaviour and protect stakeholders.

Oakleigh is able to provide advice on all the commonly accepted principles of organisational governance including:

Rights and equitable treatment of stakeholders: Organisations should respect the rights of shareholders and stakeholders and help them to exercise those rights. They can help stakeholders exercise their rights by effectively communicating information that is understandable and accessible also encouraging them to participate in general meetings.
Role and responsibilities of the board: The board needs a range of skills and understanding to be able to deal with various business issues and have the ability to review and challenge management performance. It needs to be of sufficient size and have an appropriate level of commitment to fulfil its responsibilities and duties. There needs to be an appropriate mix of executive and non-executive directors.
Integrity and ethical behaviour: Organisations should develop a code of conduct for their directors and executives that promotes ethical and responsible decision making. It is important to understand, though, that systemic reliance on integrity and ethics is bound to eventual failure.
Disclosure and transparency: Organisations should clarify and make publicly known the roles and responsibilities of board and management to provide shareholders with a level of accountability. They should also implement procedures to independently verify and safeguard the integrity of the company's financial reporting. Disclosure of material matters concerning the organisation should be timely and balanced to ensure that all investors have access to clear, factual information.

How we have helped our clients

HM Treasury Governance Arrangements
During the assignment to set up the Sector Skills Development Agency, Oakleigh Consulting developed the governance arrangements to ensure that the organisation adhered to all the principles required of an NDPB by HM Treasury.
Independent Governance
Oakleigh reviewed, and recommended improvements to, the governance arrangements for Teachers' TV working with the Department for Education and Skills. The governance required had to ensure that Teachers' TV was independent of government as required by OFCOM the regulator for the UK communications industries.
Charity Governance
We developed the governance arrangements for a new charity that was set up to develop skills throughout the United Kingdom in the Creative Industries sector. This organisation, a charity registered with the Charities Commission, was to receive its funding from both government and the private sector and therefore had to have robust governance arrangements.