Conference 2012
THE INAUGURAL NATIONAL GOVERNANCE, ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE FORUM will be held on May 30th 2012 at Croke Park stadium, Dublin, with iQuest, ACOI, Business in the Community and Transparency International.
The Inaugural National Governance, Ethics & Compliance Forum
Unlocking the Secrets of Good Governance
May 30th 2012 Croke Park Dublin
You can book from here: https://www.eventelephant.com/NGECF2012 with a special offer including EBEN Ireland Membership.
INTRODUCTION
Would you do business with someone you don’t trust? Most wouldn’t. Yet although trust is fundamental to building long term relationships, it may not be the primary driver in evaluating and making business and other decisions. Organisations which conduct their affairs with integrity are trusted, gain a good reputation and are more likely to be successful.
Yet organisations often fail to seriously consider integrity related issues until a crisis beckons. Organisations with slack governance and short-term decision making risk loss of reputation as the opportunity for a ‘fast buck’ can often prevail over longer term considerations.
Although trust damaged can be difficult to repair and organisations with damaged reputations often fail to survive, many business decisions still give insufficient consideration to the impact they may have on trust and reputation.
Despite suggestions that ‘business ethics begins where the law ends’, what is legal can be the main benchmark for some organisations whilst others struggle to remain compliant with regulations and legislation.
The world’s corporate graveyards are overflowing with firms who failed to realise that relationships – internal and external – based on integrity build a foundation for longer term success.
Whilst some organisations maintain a short-term and internal focus, many others have the vision to consider not only the longer term consequences of their decisions but also their broader involvement with and responsibility to society at large.
This event addresses all these issues – trust, integrity, reputation, ethics, governance, leadership, compliance, risk, fraud, crime, corruption, whistleblower protection and social responsibility.
The speakers from a variety of backgrounds fully recognise the challenges that businesses face in this era of more stringent legislation, stiff competition, credit crunch, global economic recession and an unfavourable investment climate. Their aim using case studies and other approaches is to demystify this complex puzzle whilst also promoting the benefits of good governance and clear policies which place corporate integrity at the forefront of managerial practices and decisions.
Although governance and leadership in business has never been more important, Irish companies are lagging behind in the race to stay up to date with governance and regulations. A 2011 report suggests only 26% of Irish companies are fully compliant with the ‘combined code’. This represents a fall of 10% from 2010 and compares unfavourably with the 51% of UK companies reporting full compliance. It is clear that Irish companies need significant improvement in this area.
It is against this backdrop that Ireland’s leading conference organisers, iQuest, together with the Irish chapters of Transparency International and the European Business Ethics Network, active in 20 European countries, believe the time is right to initiate
The National Governance, Ethics & Compliance Forum.
This forum will examine, amongst other things, the principles of good governance, ethical leadership and the benefits of prioritizing corporate integrity.
Companies do not operate in a bubble – they are a central part of society. Just as society expects a certain standard of responsibility and behaviour from individuals, it also expects businesses to abide by similar standards. Through case studies and top level speaker presentations and panels, the effectiveness of ethics programs, compliance policies and practices, board governance and the relevance of corporate responsibility will be evaluated.
Risk and Fraud are other key areas this event will address. The economic crisis of recent years has forced a renewed focus on the process of risk identification, management and mitigation. Executives are taking a much closer look at their strategic challenges in order to formulate more rigorous and effective enterprise risk management (ERM) plans. Using a detailed case study we will consider how companies are using ERM to meet the variety of challenges they face.
Firms are all the more vulnerable to fraud in the current climate. Focusing on the detection, investigation and prevention of fraud, our speakers will share their many experiences with you to help build an effective fraud prevention strategy.
With an impressive speaker line up and an array of modern, relevant topics, there is no doubt that this inaugural event is a ‘must attend’ not only for everyone with an interest in and responsibility for governance issues and best practice in any organisation, but indeed leaders and managers of all organisations.
During this era of declining sales and profitability, increasingly close competition and far too many business failures, The National Governance, Ethics & Compliance Forum will not only Unlock the Secrets of Good Governance but also illustrate how organisations of all sizes can both survive these challenging times and succeed by prioritising integrity throughout the firm, a unique and insufficiently considered competitive advantage.
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