Governance
"Sound governance practices provide stakeholders with the confidence to give ongoing support and funding to not for profit organisations"
We understand the challenges and the opportunities that the not for profit environment presents, particularly with increasing regulatory obligations brought on by Corporations Law, Charities and Not for Profit Commission and the NDIS. Our consultants are experienced directors and senior executives who have worked extensively in the not for profit sector. They also hold relevant qualifications in governance, management and law so you can be assured that you are getting the very best advice from experts in the field. Our governance services include:
Board Evaluation
“There is a fine line between having a docile board which falls in line behind management and a confrontational board which impedes the smooth running of the company” (Hamilton and Micklethwait, 2006)
Board evaluations are now a regular activity for Australian boards in all sectors. At Bitforge, we believe that the most effective boards are those that constantly strive to improve by taking a rigorous and objective look at itself to see what value it is adding to the organisation.
We understand that an effective board is highly organised and operates efficiently. We also understand that the processes, practices and relationships that operate within the board and between the board and management have a significant impact on organisational performance. At Bitforge we support boards to self evaluate through objective measures of performance, identifying performance gaps and providing directors with strategies to improve board effectiveness. We offer the following services:
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Board Evaluations
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Board Self Evaluation Tools
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Director Development and Director Training
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Board Induction Programs
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Board Recruitment.
CEO Evaluation
“It is common sense and a documented conclusion…that people do not learn without evaluation and feedback.” (John Harper 2007)
It is our experience that the reason that some boards are not strong at giving formal feedback to the CEO is because there is not clear agreement on what the CEO should actually be doing. The trend toward a more diverse board also means that there are likely to be only a few board members who have experience in a chief executive role. At Bitforge we believe that by evaluating the CEO, boards can provide great feedback and start a valuable conversation with their CEO that will ensure that CEO performance expectations align with the expectations of the Board. We offer the following services:
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CEO Evaluations
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Executive Coaching
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Performance Management
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Interim CEO
Strategic Planning
“…if you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there…” (Lewis Carroll – Alice in Wonderland)
It is our experience that if an organisation does not have a direction or goal it may go nowhere. At Bitforge we understand the importance of strategic planning and providing our clients with successful approaches to strategy development which incorporates strategic thinking and a robust strategic planning process. The outcome of our planning process is documented in a strategic plan. That plan in turn drives the focus and resource allocation of our clients business to achieve the desired organisational direction and goals. We offer the following services:
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Strategic Planning
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Evaluating Strategic Implementation
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Annual Planning and Business Plans
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Organisational Reviews
Risk Management
“Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing” (Warren Buffet)
Dealing with risk is a balancing act for any board and senior executive. We can help you to put in place a risk strategy that ensures your organisation has the systems and practices in place to ensure that organisational risk is identified and managed. Our advice is based on compliance with the Australian Risk Management Standard AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009. When we design and implement risk management strategies for our clients we take into account the specific needs of our client including objectives, context, structure, operations, processes, functions, services, assets and specific practices employed. We offer the following services:
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Risk Management Strategy Development
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Organisational Risk Assessments
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Risk Management Training
Mergers and Acquisitions
“Predicting rain doesn’t count. Building arks does” (Warren Buffet)
We believe that the roll out of the NDIS will result in a phenomenal growth in M & A activity in the not for profit sector. At Bitforge we believe that this is because organisations will seek to achieve an economy of scale that will allow them to thrive in the new open market of individualised funding. Choosing the joining organisation carefully is key to achieving growth and it’s not just about assessing the financial performance of a prospective merger or acquisition partner. It’s also about synergy. At Bitforge we believe that:
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Accurate assessment of the synergy of joining organisations, especially culture, is key;
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Organisations that have complementary operations are more likely to have synergy;
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A successfully executed integration plan is the most important single factor in realising the synergy;
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Change management is a significant risk during integration and well executed change management is also the key;
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Not losing focus on each organisations existing customers and employees during integration, is vital.
We offer the following services:
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M & A Negotiation
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Due Diligence Advice
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Integration Planning
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Change Management
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Risk Assessment
