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Poll

Should the GovernanceExcellence Network launch a CGO Working/Focus Group
Yes
86%
No
14%
Total votes: 7
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Introducing GovernanceExcellence


Welcome to GovernanceExcellence! We are committed to offering governance professionals a unique and continuing opportunity to strengthen corporate governance in your organization, in Canada and ulimately in other jurisdictions also.

The GovernanceExcellence community exists to provide a virtual space in which governance professionals can collaborate to share insights and perspectives on governance best practices, now and in the future.

In the early stages of this initiative, we are seeking guidance from you, as the earliest visitors to this site, about how GovernanceExcellence should evolve.

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Is there a Chief Governance Officer in your future?


An internet search on “Chief Governance Officer” using your favourite search engine will turn up almost 10,000 hits, including recent appointments, policy documents, and articles. Included among them is a recent survey of 400 U.S. companies, 16% of which have appointed a Chief Governance Officer, and over 50% a chief compliance officer.

This emerging trend is of interest not only to corporate secretaries, but is significant for other professionals also. Bill Swirsky, Vice President for Knowledge Development of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants notes that “there are many Chief Financial Officers in smaller companies who also have responsibility for corporate governance. Formalizing the CGO role could help these individuals, and the Boards and other professionals they work with, have a better understanding of expectations and the competencies required to meet them.”

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GE Toolkit Beta Test Introduction


A number of organizations prominent in governance, including ICSA, CSCS, the CICA, and BenchmarkAction, are collaborating in the development of an initial set of online tools to enable:

  • organizations to benchmark current and future positioning relative to governance best practices and peer organizations;
  • exploration and consensus-building on the need for and direction of change;
  • priority / process / change management tools for the corporate secretary / CGO;
  • keeping up to date on key issues and priorities for the GE community.

At the present time, there are two types of tools available:

  • Overview Modules that provide various high-level perspectives on the positioning of the organization relative to governance best practices
  • In-depth Modules that drill down in detail into a specific area of governance.

Currently there are five Overview Modules that are being offered in an Open beta test in 2006. If you are interested in participating, please follow the links for more information about the available Modules, and the procedures for registering and logging in.

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Summary of the Focus Group Results

GovernanceExcellence Focus Groups

Six Focus Groups were convened across Canada earlier to gain help in making sure that GovernanceExcellence was best focused on your needs. Nearly 100 Governance Professionals from large, small, private and public organizations participated through a combination of on-line survey and facilitated workshop sessions. Their enthousiasm for the Governance Excellence concept both encouraged us and helped to develop the initial modules now ready for Beta Test.

The survey and Focus Groups assessed areas and issues in governance for both their Criticality and the current Capacity in their organization to deal with these areas and issues.

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