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WHAT SHOULD BOARDS FOCUS ON IN 2019?

Ugen Moodley, 1. Take a hard look at the board’s the goals of the company’s digital board should be prepared for a acquisitions (M&A), expansion
Managing Director, composition: Is the talent in the strategy, How can the use of big CEO change – both planned and into new geographies, and
KwaZulu-Natal, boardroom diverse and aligned data and advanced analytics help unplanned. Succession planning relationships with suppliers and
KPMG Services (Pty) with the company’s strategy and drive the business and how do we should start the day a new CEO customers. A robust and frank
Ltd future needs? manage the data in a responsible, is named. boardroom dialogue is vital to
Institutional investors are ethical manner? 5. Assess, monitor, and helping the company learn to
T he composition, expressing concern 3. Help focus the company on reinforce culture as a strategic cybersecurity a core competency
live with cyber risk and making
increasingly focused on board
long-term value creation and
asset and critical risk
across the business.
about lack of diversity, low
Corporate culture is front
stakeholders
game- director turnover, and whether understand the views of all key and centre for companies, 7. Reassess the company’s crisis
changing the board has the right skill sets Investors continue to shareholders, regulators, prevention and readiness
to guide the company and its
strategy in the future. There is a emphasize their expectations for employees, and customers – as Crisis prevention and readiness
broad range of board composition companies to focus on long-term it should be for every board. have taken on increased
Headlines of sexual harassment,
value creation and the factors
importance and urgency for
implications of technology/ issues that require board focus driving it, like strategy and risk, price gouging, shady sales boards, as the list of crises
digital innovation, scrutiny and leadership; including talent, research & development practices, and other wrongdoing that companies have found
of corporate culture, succession planning, age and investment, culture and – with corporate culture as themselves facing in recent
growing demands to address term limits, diversity, individual incentives, and environmental, the culprit – have put boards years continues to grow. Crisis
environmental and social issues, director evaluations, removal of social, and governance (ESG) squarely in the spotlight. Where prevention goes hand in hand
and investor expectations for underperforming directors, and issues – particularly climate was the board? And what is it with sound risk management-
greater board engagement, board refreshment. change and diversity whilst doing to fix the culture? identifying and anticipating risks
diversity, and long-term value 2. Recognise that connecting stressing the importance of the and implementing systems of
creation should all drive a digital disruption with risk sustainability of the company’s 6. Continue to refine control to help prevent crises.
sharper focus on positioning management and strategy is business model. boardroom discussions about
the company for the future. more important – and more cybersecurity and data privacy Focusing on these seven core
Combined with concerns challenging – than ever 4. Make CEO succession and as risk management issues. areas will go a long way to
about mounting trade tensions, talent development throughout Cyber threats continue to grow helping boards drive a sharper
resurging debt, high valuations, Advances in digital technologies the organisation a priority more sophisticated and aggressive, focus on positioning the
and political swings in the such as cloud computing, robotic Few board responsibilities are with implications for nearly every company for a better future. 
process automation, machine
U.S., UK, not forgetting here at learning, artificial intelligence (Al), more important than hiring and facet of business. Hacks at major
home in SA with the upcoming and blockchain (and the speed firing the CEO – a reality that companies punctuate the new T: +27 31 327 6000
elections, the year ahead will of these advances) are disrupting continues to hit the headlines, reality that any organisation on C: +27 83 452 3145
require a careful balance of particularly if the board is caught the grid is vulnerable. Boardroom E: ugen.moodley@kpmg.co.za
www.kpmg.co.za
near-term focus, agility, and business models and transforming flat-footed. Given the complex discussions should be moving
long-term thinking. how companies do business. and disruptive business and risk beyond prevention to detection,
Understanding how the company environment today, it is essential containment, and response – and
KPMG has highlighted the collects, protects, analyses, and that the company has the right to addressing cybersecurity as an
following seven items for boards uses data have become table stakes CEO in place to drive strategy, enterprise-wide business issue
to consider as they focus their 2019 for broader, potentially game- navigate risk, and create long- that affects strategy, compliance,
agendas on their critical challenges: changing questions: What are term value for the enterprise. The product development, mergers and

CREATING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

he StellarBots from in Johannesburg where they
Parklands College Qualify competed against the best FLL
Tto Represent South Africa teams in the country.
in Uruguay.
In the face of stiff competition,
The theme for the 2018/2019 the positive attitude and
FIRST Lego League (FLL) perseverance of the StellarBots
Robotics season is “INTO resulted in them placing fourth
ORBIT”. This theme requires overall and receiving the Robot
teams to transport themselves Programming Award. They also
into space in order to create received a special invitation
innovative solutions to solve real to represent South Africa at
world challenges that the vast the FIRST LEGO League Plan
expanse of space holds. Ceibal International Open in
Montevideo, Uruguay, from
The StellarBots chose to research
the challenge of growing crops in 30 May to 1 June 2019. 
difficult planetary environments,
such as those found on Mars, Casandra de Vos, Marketing
and develop plant growing Department, Parklands College
systems that support these. Int Tel: +27 (0)21 522 6731
After their performance at the W: www.parklands.co.za
Western Cape Regional FIRST
Lego League competition last
year, the StellarBots received
an invitation to take part in (Left to Right) Kieran Redpath, Bonan Zhu, Katlego Ngobeni, Camryn Abrahamson, Kyle Southern, Hayden Visser,
the First Lego League South Brooke Elliot
The FIRST Lego League Robotics team, “StellarBots”, from Parklands College placed fourth overall at the national
African national competition at competition in Johannesburg with their interplanetary plant growing system. As a result they have been invited to
the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre represent South Africa at the FIRST LEGO League Plan Ceibal International Open in Montevideo, Uruguay, from 30
May to 1 June 2019.

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