On the 3rd and 4th July, Convene sponsored CGI Governance 2024. We’d like to thank the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland, and all those in attendance, for making it such an engaging and informative conference.

The CGI Governance conference seeks to bring together a wide range of governance professionals from around the world, offering a range of development opportunities while also helping to define the new governance landscape.

The role of the governance professional has only become even more important during the instability of the last few years and the Institute looks to examine this through a wide range of topical panels, talks and advice about the state of governance in 2024.

 

The first day of the conference began with a welcome from the event host Clare Forestier, and a CEO address from Sarah Drake, speaking to the precarious state of governance given the election on July 4th.

Then, there was the first talk of the day, which was a keynote address on the UK political environment in 2024. It explored what organisations can do about the current decline in public trust, especially the distrust of politicians and the press.

This was followed by an interactive session on how to lead your board through the jungle of AI, which demonstrated what it might take to move a board forward on their understanding of AI.

There was then a panel on the Board’s role in crisis management and reputation, and the steps organisations can take to crisis plan and limit reputational damage.

There was another panel discussion on effective risk management, Board engagement on risk, and how to establish a risk framework.

After lunch a series of breakout sessions began. The first of these looked at the new 2024 UK Corporate Governance Code, how to secure your first NED position, the increasing role of the audit committee and regaining shareholder trust, and how AI could help your organisation with the AI Centre of Excellence.

The second set of breakout sessions looked at successful Board strategy and how to implement it, the impact of the Code for Sports Governance on culture and decision making for sports bodies, and aiding company secretaries across listed and non-listed sectors boost their confidence and understanding.

There was a particular session on Board oversight in difficult times and how Boards can adapt in the after-effects of Covid and rising geopolitical tensions, that highlighted the importance of software like Convene.

Convene is a Board Portal renowned for its security, ease-of-use and effectiveness in helping Boards, Committees and Administrators streamline the entire meeting process – with a wide-range of features which simplify the pre, during and post meeting stages.

Convene allows your Board to communicate seamlessly and efficiently, so you can instead focus on adapting to the rising challenges your Board may face. With the right software, the complex task of management can be much easier.

After a short break, there were more breakout sessions which explored menopause in the workplace and the benefits of fostering a menopause-friendly environment, how to have difficult conversations as a governance professional, the launch of the new CGI UK guidance note on director induction, and how governance professional are helping Boards to break free.

The day ended with a plenary session translating strategy into action, and the conference’s closing remarks.

The second day of the conference began with a talk on the importance of purposefully building trust and trustworthiness, and the role of corporate governance in this.

Then there was a talk on the role of Boards in leadership, and the governance of an ethical corporate culture, looking at the responsibilities, challenges and opportunities which confront boards in 2024.

There was a discussion on AI, and a debate surrounding AI innovation vs AI regulation, and how AI is set to revolutionise the way we work.

After lunch there was a series of breakout sessions, the first of which explored the recent and future developments of the Charity Governance Code, how to build your governance career with insight from panellists, the conflicts that arise in the role of CoSec for students and the power of data governance and how it can be utilised by your organisation.

The second set of breakout sessions looked at the people-side of Boards and discussed how Board behaviours and relationships are formed, trustee diversity and recruitment, the role of organisational culture and the values of governance, and the future of annual reporting. This final session looked especially at the changing ESG reporting requirements, the lessons learned from previous reporting cycles and what companies can do for a successful next cycle.

One way that organisations can adapt to the ever-changing landscape of ESG reporting is with an ESG reporting tool, like Convene ESG.

Convene ESG is an innovative reporting tool that works to streamline your ESG reporting processes. From collecting data to collating your report, our platform makes these activities a more collaborative, auditable and user-friendly procedure.

Our aim is to alleviate some of the challenges of ESG data gathering, performance tracking, and reporting for ESG factors so organisations can move towards global sustainability and net zero. Designed in collaboration with our clients, Convene makes reporting simple, so you can focus on achieving a successful reporting cycle.

The final set of breakout sessions discussed the trends, new opportunities and latest thinking on diversity, charity reporting insights and how charities can measure their impact, updates to non-financial reporting and what might be coming, and trends in global governance and the rise of carve-outs.

The day ended with a final talk on how to increase personal impact through influence and negotiation, and closing remarks from Clare Forestier.

We’d like to again thank the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland for putting on such an enlightening conference on the governance issues affecting us all in 2024, and for all attendees for their commitment to discussing these important topics.

You can learn more about how Convene, and Convene ESG, can help your governance processes here.