THE demand for governance training in Fiji is overwhelming, demonstrating the interest from board directors to understand current governance practices, seasoned Fiji director Jenny Seeto said.
Together with former chief manager Westpac Fiji David Evans, Ms Seeto helped facilitate two workshops this week, under the Fiji Board Governance Program, at the Holiday Inn and Novotel Suva.
This week’s workshops closely follow two Governance and the Board workshops they facilitated in February, described as “highly successful”.
“From my experience on, and working with local boards in Fiji, I know these governance workshops will make a difference by providing greater clarify of what good contemporary governance standards looks like,” Ms Seeto said.
She said the challenging landscape of board governance today requires directors and executives of Fiji companies, organisations, and authorities to keep up to date with contemporary governance practices.
“While there are specific laws in Fiji for directors and officers under the Fiji Companies Act and other laws and regulations, increasing expectations from owners and other stakeholders means that required board governance standards today are not a ‘set and forget’ exercise.”
Mr Evans, a current independent director on the South Pacific Stock Exchange–listed Vision Investments Ltd board, said he had worked with a lot of directors in Australia and around the world, “and requirements on directors and executives today can be onerous so their duties and responsibilities cannot be taken lightly.”
“Directors are being put under the spotlight and are being held to account if their organisation is not delivering value for the owners or their performance is not aligned to stakeholders’ expectations,” Mr Evans said.
The two one-day workshops were attended by over 60 participants and covered topics that ranged from the principles of good governance, the role between management and the board as well as the legal duties and responsibilities of directors and officers under the Fiji Companies Act. The workshops also discuss the essence of board effectiveness as well as providing an understanding of the key governance systems and processes.
To complete the initial suite of workshops in the Fiji Board Governance Program, two additional workshops will be held later in the year.
A Risk and Strategy for Directors workshop and Understanding Financial Statements workshop are both scheduled for delivery in October 2024, with plans to expand the program to all Pacific countries next year, according to Ms Seeto.
The Fiji Board Governance Program workshops are being organised through the Fiji Human Resources Institute.
