Strengthening Financial Governance
For Māori and non-Māori organisations alike, financial governance is a key enabler to success.
Financial governance is the backbone of any successful organisation. For Māori organisations, it can carry an added layer of complexity and responsibility – upholding tikanga, safeguarding assets for future generations, and achieving social and cultural aspirations alongside financial demands of the day to day, making effective governance and leadership challenging.
By embracing robust governance practices, organisations can navigate challenges with confidence and help to ensure long-term sustainability.
The Power of Policies and Processes
At the heart of financial governance lies a strong foundation of policies and processes. These are not just bureaucratic necessities – they are the guiding frameworks that ensure consistency, transparency, and accountability.
Clear policies help governors and management make informed decisions, while well-defined processes streamline operations and reduce risks. Constitutions, Charters, SIPO’s, etc., aren’t documents that sit on the shelf collecting dust. They should be living documents aligned with the organisation’s purpose, values and tikanga.
Leveraging Professional Expertise
Governors and leaders of all types of organisations are not expected to have all the answers, but they should know where to go to get them. By engaging professionals and advisors, governors can discover invaluable insights and support, even if the topic is outside their specialty.
Internal experts, such as finance managers or legal counsel, offer a deep understanding of an organisation’s unique structure. Meanwhile, external professionals, such as accountants, lawyers and bankers bring different perspectives and specialised knowledge.
Although engaging external advisors can come at a cost, talking to your bank can be free if your organisation has a dedicated relationship manager.
What we often see with community and Māori organisations is that they don’t leverage their banking relationship to the level they possibly could. There is a level of apprehension with Māori and volunteer organisations when it comes to engaging banks.
However, banks are filled with good people who want to see their communities do well. Many of these people have an in-depth understanding of the financial and banking systems that can be an enabler of community organisations. Things like digital payments, organisational changes, and cash management solutions can all be enhanced by having good banking relationships.
Learning and Growing as Governors
Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere, engari ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te ao – The bird that eats on the miro berry resides in the forest, the bird that feasts on knowledge owns the world.
Governance is a journey, not a destination. Continuous learning is essential for staying ahead in an ever-changing landscape. There is a responsibility on governors to continuously grow their skills and capability. I would encourage governors to access the wealth of online resources to enhance their skills and knowledge.
Advisors and banks can support governors along this journey with capability development programs or recommend programs delivered through external providers. Additionally, attending workshops, webinars, or networking events can foster collaboration and provide shared learning among leaders.
The Art of Decisiveness
One critical skill in governance is decisiveness. While it’s important to gather information and consult stakeholders, prolonged indecision can hinder progress, create uncertainty, and lead to missed opportunities or increased costs.
Effective governors strike a balance between careful deliberation and timely action. By trusting their expertise, seeking advice when needed, and staying true to the organisation’s values, leaders can make decisions that drive positive outcomes.
Ensuring Fit-For-Purpose Tools
The tools and systems used by an organisation play a pivotal role in its success. From financial software to communication platforms and digital banking, ensuring you are using the right tools is essential to effective participation in the financial system.
Governors should regularly review and assess their organisation’s tools to ensure they meet current and future needs. Having management collaborating with IT professionals or consultants can help identify opportunities for improvement and ensure the organisation remains agile and efficient.
Moving Forward with Confidence
Financial governance may seem complex, but with the right approach, it becomes a powerful enabler of success. By prioritising policies and processes, leveraging professional expertise, embracing continuous learning, making decisive choices, and ensuring fit-for-purpose tools, your organisation can thrive in a dynamic environment, even with limited resources and time.
Remember, you’re not alone on this journey. Reach out to your bank and other trusted advisors, explore resources like those offered by various organisations such as Community Governance Aotearoa, and connect with others who share your vision and can support the prosperity of your organisation and community.
About Whetū Rangi
Whetū leads BNZ’s Māori Business strategy supporting Māori customers across Aotearoa. Based out of Tauranga Moana, his banking experience spans Custodial services, Corporate, Commercial, and Business banking sectors. This along with personal experience assisting with marae and iwi organisations enable him to understand the difficulties in navigating a Māori holistically driven approach to business and a bank’s commercially driven decision-making processes. His role is to bring an understanding to the banking sector, advocating for Māori, assisting them with their economic and financial aspirations.
This article is solely for information purposes. It’s not financial or other professional advice. For help, please contact BNZ or your professional adviser.
No party, including BNZ, is liable for direct or indirect loss or damage resulting from the content of this article. Any opinions in this article are not necessarily shared by BNZ or anyone else.
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Links:
Māori Governance Toolkit developed between Community Governance Aotearoa and Te Tumu Paeroa
