In this podcast, James Beasley, Senior Director at Nasdaq Governance Solutions, discusses how organisations and boards can evolve their risk management practices in response to a changing risk landscape. James outlines how non-financial risks are becoming more prominent and discusses the challenges in managing these less tangible, more complex risks. He argues that their universal nature means that organisations can no longer afford to forgo risk oversight and governance. James describes how many organisations are innovating to ensure they are equipped to manage what is becoming an increasingly complex space.

In this podcast Sharon Constançon, CEO of Genius Boards, offers advice for company secretaries and governance professionals on managing the challenges they face in their role, from gaining feedback and stretching themselves to learning tactics to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Sharon advises compartmentalising the noise of the role to gain control of it. She describes how to handle the inevitable left hook and the value of being the trusted expert who absorbs panic rather than creating it. Sharon highlights the power of conversation initiated by the governance professional to fix a broken relationship, as well as discussing how to own up to a mistake and how to avoid being seen as a ‘blocker’.

In this podcast Patrick Skinner, General Manager for UK and Europe at Atticus, discusses the importance of the verification process in ensuring that statements included in regulated documents such as annual reports aren’t misleading. Patrick highlights relevant regulatory considerations and discusses the risk of shareholder activism and reputational damage associated with making misleading statements. He also considers verification in the context of greenwashing risk and TCFD disclosure. He argues that automating verification can help combat the risk of human error in what can sometimes be a repetitive and tedious process.

In this podcast, Andrew Horbury, Director at the School of International Financial Services, talks through the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, decentralised finance and the blockchain.

In this podcast Kerry Round, Founding Director of Round Governance Services, outlines how the governance of a company will change following an Initial Public Offering (IPO). She covers board structure, responsibilities, composition, and the need for board diversity. The discussion outlines how an IPO will affect important stakeholders such as employees, the policies the company will need to have in place, what disclosures will be required, and which external bodies the company secretary or governance professional will find themselves dealing with on a regular basis. Kerry describes an IPO as a career highlight and the role of the company secretary or governance professional in a listed company as fabulous.

In this podcast, James Beasley, Senior Director at Nasdaq Governance Solutions, discusses the concept of individual accountability, which was first developed in the financial services sector. James explains that to apply the concept an organisation will undergo a process of defining and communicating its senior individuals’ accountabilities. James considers whether the lessons learned in financial services from applying this regime could be extended to other sectors, arguing that outcomes such as a sense of responsibility coupled with a strong degree of clarity could be universally beneficial. James suggests practical steps that company secretaries or governance professionals and their boards can take to implement individual accountability at their organisation.

In this podcast we are talking to Sharon Constancon, CEO of Genius Boards, about leadership in the boardroom.

In this podcast Sharon Constançon, CEO of Genius Boards, discusses how to address issues that are impeding board effectiveness that aren’t always easy to identify. Sharon likens the scenario to an octopus, where all the issues are linked to a common cause, represented by the head of the octopus. She goes on to outline how enhancing the emotional quotient (EQ) of the company secretary, the chair and the individual directors will allow the board as a whole to defuse those hard-to-identify issues it faces and allow it to achieve its full potential.