The Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda (ICGU) has organised the first Corporate Governance awards that will take place on 17th May 2018 at Kampala Serena Hotel. This is one of the key milestones happening in the country. We will be celebrating the best corporate governance practitioners. As the secretary of ICGU, corporate governance is key to a company’s success. Any organisation in Uganda must participate because it is an opportunity to put your corporate governance practices to the test. There are so many organizations that have put boards in place but are doing things which do not necessarily add…
How to evaluate the board’s effectiveness
To effectively evaluate the board, you must have set targets against which you are evaluating the board members. This calls for an effective governance structure and separation of powers. At the topmost, there must be the owner of the business. For publicly listed companies, these are shareholders with an equity certificate. The shareholders, at the AGM or annual general meeting, must elect the board members and set clear targets for the board so appointed. For emphasis, when the owner/ shareholders appoint the board, she/he must give them a score card or targets that are measurable. According to Kaplan and Norton,…
The board’s role in oversight of risks
The board is responsible for oversight. This includes risk management and compliance. Regardless of the type of the company, failure to comply with the laws and regulations of the land presents serious risks to the business. The board executes their role by effective application of the ‘tools of the board.’ The first tool of the board is a risk policy. The board’s risk policy provides for the formulation of the enterprise risk framework or strategy which also articulates the risk appetite and the risk management process, including providing for risk register. In Uganda, MTN spent the bigger part of March…
The board’s role in corporate governance
The board is the top most decision-making body. It is accountable to the shareholders or the owners of the business. Its primary roles are two-fold; provide effective oversight and going concern. The oversight role entails effective enterprise-wide risk management and compliance. The board must ensure the organization is sustainable for the long term. Any anticipated events or risks which could take place and stand in the way of the organisation growth must be proactively identified and taken care of. Take the case of MTN Nigeria scandal. In 2010, Nigeria Federal Government through their communications commission required all Mobile Network Operators…
Getting a board appointment
There are no announcements for board appointments. One will ask how companies find the people to sit on their boards. Getting a board appointment is all about being identified as an outlier in your respective profession than being invited to apply for the position. This is not a job with specific responsibilities, which when you fail to perform they sack you or subject you to performance improvement. It is an obligation to commit time and resources to provide oversight and when you fail to deliver you risk being sued. To become a board member, it requires someone who is already…
Why it is important for families to intermarry
Intermarriage is good. It facilitates diversity and mixing up of different genes to deliver something unique. The practice of marrying beyond boundaries, tribes, races or families is fantastic. A country like Australia has survived because of many people from different parts of the world settled there. US has succeeded because of immigration. People came from Africa, Russia, Europe and intermarried. The results were an intermix of races gave to the birth of future geniuses who have redefined the world we now live in. Of course, there are races like the Jews and Arabas, among others, who have defied all odds…
