Board papers and regulatory strategy

I help boards take positions they can defend, whether that board runs an association or a firm facing reform. That means board papers, position papers and regulatory strategy.

​

What does a board need before it takes a public position?

A position it can defend when it's challenged: clear on the trade-offs, honest about the risks, and tested against how members, regulators and the media will read it. I'll tell a board the uncomfortable thing, because the alternative is members paying for the comfort.

​

What goes into a board paper I write?

• The decision the board is being asked to make, in the first paragraph

• The real options, including the one nobody wants to say out loud

• How members, regulators and the media are likely to read each option

• A recommendation, with its risks named

​

What about firms that have to implement the change?

The same discipline applies. I help licensees, platforms and advice businesses work out what a reform means for them, decide how to respond, and brief their boards on the risks and choices.

​

Can you help us see the next reform coming?

Yes. Regulatory horizon scanning and scenario work, so the board decides where it stands before the consultation paper arrives, not after.

​

Do you sit on boards yourself?

Yes. I'm a director of the Financial Advice Association Australia and the Future2 Foundation, so I know what it's like to read a pack the night before. Conflicts are declared and managed.