Governance is in simple terms the process of running your business properly. Governance is the single most important issue facing all businesses today – from governance flows all of the other techniques essential to operating your business. Business size does not matter – all businesses require governance.

Governance is not an imposition – it includes all of the tools necessary to enhance profitability.

Agriculture has governance needs that are unique.

Why the growing emphasis on business governance particularly in agriculture? Primary produce prices over time have either declined or stayed flat in real terms for the last century. Land use has become answerable to the public for its actions. Agriculture will no longer survive or be acceptable unless it is also sustainable. The only way in which those trends can be coped with is to make farming more efficient. It is a fortunate industry – it is supported by research results and technology that are equal or better than most industries. The big issue is how these factors can be built into your business to make it respond to such influences.

Businesses must have direction. There can be no direction without governance. It is a separate activity to either management or to operations. It demands an input that is no less equal to those other functions. Sadly, in general it receives little or no attention at all in SMEs.

Our agricultural governance services include:

• Establishing the present level of compliance with Directors' obligations
• The need for governance
• Definitions of governance
• Relationship to management
• An interface between Directors and Management
• Governance and the small to medium enterprise
• Identification of stakeholders
• Stakeholder demands
• Providing a path to help Boards be seen to be effective by stakeholders
• Formal and legislated governance
• Sustainability – is it an issue?
• Analysis of existing governance processes
• Defining specific procedures for each business unit
• Who carries it out?
• How is it carried out?
• Ongoing governance
• Keeping Directors informed of ongoing wider changes to their obligations
• Maintaining checklists and reviews of compliance by a Board with Directors' own plans
• Assistance with long term planning of Board structures
• Dealing with Board obligations to individual Directors in terms of documented role descriptions, remuneration and rotations