XC7 The Executive Director exercises accountability and engages effectively
with key stakeholders (CfA 521)
Unit Summary
The Executive Director will bring personal experience, internal knowledge and
relevant expertise to the decision making process to assist the Governing Body when
it exercises accountability to and takes proper account of the interests of key
stakeholders
Personal attributes
The Executive Director will apply the following personal attributes:
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Analysing critically
Making sound judgements
Showing imagination
Taking a strategic perspective
Managing resources
Communicating engagingly
Being self-aware
Being emotionally resilient
Applying intuition
Being sensitive to others
Influencing others
Being motivated
Acting conscientiously
Performance indicators
Identify the organisation’s stakeholders and evaluate their interests and impact on
the organisation
The Executive Director will bring personal experience, internal knowledge and
relevant expertise to the decision making process to assist the Governing Body to:
1. Establish systems to identify the organisation’s internal and external stakeholders
2. Evaluate the impact on the organisation of the various stakeholders
3. Evaluate appropriate information about the interests of key stakeholders
Knowledge and understanding
The Executive Director will know:
General knowledge and understanding
 Appropriate database systems for the organisation’s internal and external
stakeholders
 The legal requirements on the collection and use of information
 Evaluation methods
 ICSA Guidance Notes 2003 Matters reserved for the Board
Skills for Justice
National Occupational Standards for the Governance of Public
Sector Services
Page 1
Final version August 2007
Sources of context specific knowledge and understanding
For Boards of Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
 The Combined Code (2003);
D1 Dialogue with Institutional Shareholders
D2 Constructive use of the AGM
 ICSA Guidance Notes 2003; Recommended best practice on electronic
communication with shareholders
For Boards of Private Sector Companies
 The Institute of Directors’ Standards for the Board (2001); Part 3 Section D
Exercise accountability to shareholders and be responsible to relevant
stakeholders
 OECD Principles of Corporate Governance (2004);
2 The rights of shareholders and key ownership functions
3. The equitable treatment of shareholders
4 The role of stakeholders in corporate governance
For Governing Bodies within the Public Sector
 The Independent Commission on Good Governance in Public Services’ The Good
Governance Standard for Public Services (2004); 6 Good governance means
engaging stakeholders and making accountability real
 The OECD Guidelines for State Owned Enterprises (2005);
2 The state acting as an owner
3 Equitable treatment of shareholders
4 Relations with stakeholders
For Governing Bodies within the Voluntary and Community Sector
 National Occupational Standards for Trustees and Management Committee
Members (2006) Unit 1
 Good Governance: A Code for the Voluntary and Community Sector (2005)
Principle H
For Governing Bodies of registered charities
 Operational Guidance by the Charity Commission
 CC3 - The Essential Trustee: What you need to know (June 2005)
 Charity Commission Governance Framework (2005)
Performance indicators
Take into account the interests of key stakeholders
The Executive Director will bring personal experience, internal knowledge and
relevant expertise to the decision making process to assist the Governing Body to:
4. Agree a policy to manage relationships with key stakeholders
5. Make arrangements to promote the goodwill and support of key stakeholders
6. Ensure systems respond effectively to stakeholder issues and to identify and
resolve conflicts of interest and disagreements
Knowledge and understanding
The Executive Director will know:
General knowledge and understanding
 Relationship management systems
Skills for Justice
National Occupational Standards for the Governance of Public
Sector Services
Page 2
Final version August 2007
 Effective techniques to promote the goodwill and support of key stakeholders
 Methods of identifying and responding to stakeholder issues and resolving
conflicts
 ICSA Guidance Notes 2003; Matters reserved for the Board
Sources of context specific knowledge and understanding
For Boards of Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
 The Combined Code (2003);
D1 Dialogue with Institutional Shareholders
D2 Constructive use of the AGM
 ICSA Guidance Notes 2003; Recommended best practice on electronic
communication with shareholders
For Boards of Private Sector Companies
 The Institute of Directors’ Standards for the Board (2001); Part 3 Section D
Exercise accountability to shareholders and be responsible to relevant
stakeholders
 OECD Principles of Corporate Governance (2004);
2 The rights of shareholders and key ownership functions
3. The equitable treatment of shareholders
4 The role of stakeholders in corporate governance
For Governing Bodies within the Public Sector
 The Independent Commission on Good Governance in Public Services’ The Good
Governance Standard for Public Services (2004); 6 Good governance means
engaging stakeholders and making accountability real
 The OECD Guidelines for State Owned Enterprises (2005)
2 The state acting as an owner
3 Equitable treatment of shareholders
4 Relations with stakeholders
For Governing Bodies within the Voluntary and Community Sector
 National Occupational Standards for Trustees and Management Committee
Members (2006) Unit 1
 Good Governance: A Code for the Voluntary and Community Sector (2005)
Principle H
For Governing Bodies of registered charities
 Operational Guidance by the Charity Commission
Performance indicators
Demonstrate the Governing Body’s accountability to key stakeholders
The Executive Director will bring personal experience, internal knowledge and
relevant expertise to the decision making process to assist the Governing Body to:
7. Establish a policy of accessibility and openness with key stakeholders
8. Ensure effective channels of communication are set up both to and from key
stakeholders
9. Provide a balanced and accurate assessment of the organisation’s successes
and failures, together with a balanced and comprehensible assessment of the
organisation’s position and prospects
10. Encourage and enable the engagement of key stakeholders in the organisation’s
planning and decision-making
11. Ensure that communications from the organisation are relevant, consistent,
unbiased, accurate, and cost-effective
Skills for Justice
National Occupational Standards for the Governance of Public
Sector Services
Page 3
Final version August 2007
Knowledge and understanding
The Executive Director will know:
General knowledge and understanding
 The importance in governance rating of openness for all organisation dealings
with key stakeholders
 Effective channels of communication
 The importance in governance rating of balanced and accurate disclosure
 The importance in governance rating of positive relations and engagement with
key non-financial stakeholders
 The necessity that all communications from the organisation are relevant,
consistent, unbiased, accurate, and cost-effective
 ICSA Guidance Notes 2003; Matters reserved for the Board
Sources of context specific knowledge and understanding
For Boards of Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
 The Combined Code (2003);
D1 Dialogue with Institutional Shareholders
D2 Constructive use of the AGM
 ICSA Guidance Notes 2003; Recommended best practice on electronic
communication with shareholders
For Boards of Private Sector Companies
 The Institute of Directors’ Standards for the Board (2001); Part 3 Section D
Exercise accountability to shareholders and be responsible to relevant
stakeholders
 OECD Principles of Corporate Governance (2004);
2 The rights of shareholders and key ownership functions
3. The equitable treatment of shareholders
4 The role of stakeholders in corporate governance
For Governing Bodies within the Public Sector
 The Independent Commission on Good Governance in Public Services’ The Good
Governance Standard for Public Services (2004); 6 Good governance means
engaging stakeholders and making accountability real
 The OECD Guidelines for State Owned Enterprises (2005);
2 The state acting as an owner
3 Equitable treatment of shareholders
4 Relations with stakeholders
For Governing Bodies within the Voluntary and Community Sector
 National Occupational Standards for Trustees and Management Committee
Members (2006) Unit 1
 Good Governance: A Code for the Voluntary and Community Sector (2005)
Principle H
For Governing Bodies of registered charities
 Operational Guidance by the Charity Commission
Skills for Justice
National Occupational Standards for the Governance of Public
Sector Services
Page 4
Final version August 2007
Performance indicators
Monitor relations with key stakeholders
The Executive Director will bring personal experience, internal knowledge and
relevant expertise to the decision making process to assist the Governing Body to:
12. Monitor and review regularly relations with key stakeholders
13. Ensure that robust procedures are embedded into the systems to manage
communications at times of crisis as well as on a routine basis
14. Ensure information systems are in existence that are capable of alerting the
Governing Body to the possible risks and costs of mismanaged relations
Knowledge and understanding
The Executive Director will know:
General knowledge and understanding
 Monitoring and evaluation systems
 Critical issues management
 Public relations management
 ICSA Guidance Notes 2003; Matters reserved for the Governing body
Sources of context specific knowledge and understanding
For Boards of Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
 The Combined Code (2003);
D1 Dialogue with Institutional Shareholders
D2 Constructive use of the AGM
 ICSA Guidance Notes 2003; Recommended best practice on electronic
communication with shareholders
For Boards of Private Sector Companies
 The Institute of Directors’ Standards for the Board (2001); Part 3 Section D
Exercise accountability to shareholders and be responsible to relevant
stakeholders
 OECD Principles of Corporate Governance (2004);
2 The rights of shareholders and key ownership functions
3. The equitable treatment of shareholders
4 The role of stakeholders in corporate governance
For Governing Bodies within the Public Sector
 The Independent Commission on Good Governance in Public Services’ The Good
Governance Standard for Public Services (2004); 6 Good governance means
engaging stakeholders and making accountability real
 The OECD Guidelines for State Owned Enterprises (2005);
2 The state acting as an owner
3 Equitable treatment of shareholders
4 Relations with stakeholders
For Governing Bodies within the Voluntary and Community Sector
 National Occupational Standards for Trustees and Management Committee
Members (2006) Unit 1
 Good Governance: A Code for the Voluntary and Community Sector (2005)
Principle H
For Governing Bodies of registered charities
 Operational Guidance by the Charity Commission
Skills for Justice
National Occupational Standards for the Governance of Public
Sector Services
Page 5
Final version August 2007