Statement from the Board 10 October 2017

1. Strategy

The Board has agreed to review the organisation’s strategy. This will happen in a considered manner taking into account the outcomes of the Independent Review and following consultation with Divisional and Branch members and CPA Australia staff.

2. CEO Recruitment

The Board has approved the CEO search process. The process will be conducted by external executive search firm Spencer Stuart. Advertisements will appear in major media outlets in Australia and internationally.

We encourage those with the appropriate credentials to apply. 

3. Director and Executive Remuneration

The Board has approved independent benchmarking for Director and Executive Remuneration. The outcome of this work is expected in November and will be applied to all Directors retrospectively to cover the period from 1 October when new Director terms commenced.

We will provide members with details of reset Director remuneration levels when available. We will also provide details of the outcomes of executive remuneration benchmarking.

The Board has also committed to ongoing transparency in remuneration reporting in its annual report each year.

4. Governance Arrangements

The Board is aware that governance arrangements, and flow on changes to the Constitution, are one of the key areas of focus of the Independent Review. 

However, the Board is able to begin work in some areas immediately. The new Directors have considerable governance experience and have begun reviewing the organisation’s by-laws and committee charters. The Board has established a new Board committee to oversee member engagement. The charter for this committee is being developed.

The Board also agreed it will establish an implementation committee to oversee the implementation of recommendations from the Independent Review. The charter for this committee is being developed.

The Board has changed the practice of the Nomination and Remuneration committee.  Previously, the CEO set the remuneration levels for the COO positions. Now all senior executive positions at GM level and above will be approved by the Board in keeping with best practice principles. This will be informed by independent benchmarking.

5. Brand Strategy

The previous strategy of personalising the leadership through branding the CEO role is over. Going forward the CPA Australia brand will be the primary brand. The attributes we will be looking for in a new CEO reflect this change of strategy.

6. Member Engagement

Member engagement is a priority for us and the Board plans on being a very active one.  We are committed to a new plan for member engagement across our divisions, branches and more broadly.

Our membership is large and diverse and for many members the key touch point with CPA Australia is through forums supported by members volunteering their time.

We have more than 700 members who regularly volunteer their time to be part of Divisional Councils, Committees, Branches and Discussion groups.

Their work is invaluable to CPA Australia and to the profession. We want to engage with them to get their views on future direction for CPA Australia, particularly in relation to continually improving the services we offer to members.

7. Staff Engagement and Culture

The Board is committed to a positive, professional and harmonious work environment for all those employed at CPA Australia. We are looking to put in place strategies and plans aimed at generating and supporting this.

We are aware that there are challenges ahead of us as an organisation and as a Board, but we are committed to meeting those challenges and to making decisions that are in the best interests of the organisation and the membership overall.

If you have any comments please email [email protected]

Sincerely,
CPA Australia Board of Directors