Special Investigations

There is often a common thread within these reviews, which helps our team to build up an understanding of how such situations arise, the level of oversight which may or may not have been applied, and the systemic and human failings which often lead to their perpetuation and deterioration. In this regard, themes which we have frequently observed across such organisations include (in no specific order of priority):

• a lack of curiosity amongst board members to question the actions of the executive;
• inadequate induction or training for board members and executive staff;
• groupthink and a lack of general preparedness to challenge the norm;
• a lack of diversity on boards in terms of background, age, gender, experience and other factors;
• failures within the governance process to properly hold people to account;
• inadequate secretariat functions including poor minute-taking and recording of decisions;
• lack of high-quality management information or systems upon which to base decisions;
• cumbersome reporting structures and vagueness in accountability;
• undue influence being exerted by one or more powerful individuals to subvert the process of proper governance and accountability.