Concurrent Sessions – Governance…A Goldsworthy, Koumoukelis

Description

Beyond Director’s Duties, Mental Models for Directors

Mr Aaron Goldsworthy (Australian Strategic Services, Romsey, Australia)

Abstract:

Beyond director’s duties, mental models for directors

The past decade has seen boards, committees of management, councils or similar named groups of individuals move from the processes and behaviours of managers managing a service to the processes and behaviours of directors governing an organisation. To this end there has been much focus on duties that the law proscribes for directors or similar positions. While knowledge and understanding of director’s duties is critical they provide little in the way of guidance to an individual of what the work of a director involves or how to effectively go about the work of the director.

Directors of not for profit aged care organisations must be more than just minders of a service or set of services. Directors, whether paid or unpaid, must be visionaries, entrepreneurs, forward thinkers and strategists to ensure that their organisation not only survives but thrives in an environment characterised by technological innovation, continual shifts in government policy and increasing customer expectations and control.

Leading directors build successful and sustainable organisations through the application of mental models (ways of thinking) that go beyond just their director’s duties. From understanding the organisation’s core business and the types of value the organisation delivers aligned to that core business to the role of systems, the stages of quality and more this presentation will explore mental models and associated tools and processes that can assist directors strengthen and enhance their organisation and ultimately what they deliver for their customers.

This presentation will provide delegates with:

– understanding of the work involved in being a director and how to effectively go about the work of the director; and

– the mental models (ways of thinking) adopted by leading directors to build successful and sustainable organisations.

===

Interpreting and implementing the single Aged Care Quality Standards, Governance a board/CEO perspective – is my house safe?

Mr Arthur Koumoukelis (Thomson Geer)

Abstract:

A Board’s primary function is to set the strategy and vision of an organisation and employ a CEO to implement and manage that strategy. Board members and CEOs owe duties and carry responsibilities under the Corporations Act. Not for profit organisations carry additional obligations under the ACNC regime. The single Aged Care Quality Standards marks a change in the obligations of approved providers under the Aged Care Act to an outcomes focus rather than an action plan. It reflects a fundamental shift of aged care viewed simply as a benevolent, social service to a serious, accountable and transparent business funded by and accountable to the Australian taxpayer. The temptation for an approved provider is to summarise the Guidelines and respond to the obligations imposed by adopting a rigid risk matrix approach. The concern of board members and senior management of non compliance is that they are held personally responsible and put their own assets at risk. This presentation will look at the Standards through the prism of what boards do, the role of the CEO and how organisations meet their strategy and satisfy the Standards. It will look at the challenges faced by organisations that have limited access to assistance such as regionals, the importance of skill based boards and the emerging role of external support structures such as industry associations, that may be utilised.

Outcomes and value

Participants will gain an understanding that compliance can’t be a tick box approach and that it may be necessary for organisations say no to resident wants If the business can’t supply it or can’t afford it. This is relevant to organisations to balance purpose with capacity to providers which fits within both the Purpose and Performance aspects of the Summit

The objective is to assist board members and CEOs to look at the Standards from the board member/CEO perspective and distil:

what needs to be done,
what are the guiding principles
what do you do if you can’t do it all
Business Improvement

The presentation will assist boards and management to understand and develop strategies to implement the purpose of the Standards rather than the literal application and response to each element of the Standards.

The objective is to assist board members and CEOs to look at the Standards from the board member/CEO perspective and distil:

• what needs to be done
• what are the guiding principles
• what do you do if you can’t do it all