Standards have been moving into new territory during the last decade and the new BS 13500, “Code of practice for delivering effective governance of organizations,” is a prime example of this trend. Written to support the UK Corporate Governance Code, the standard can be used by a wide variety of organizations needing a basis for policy and documentation. It is one of a growing number of management standards meant to support goals beyond the scope of the traditional engineering challenges usually associated with standardization.
Organizational governance (aka corporate governance) is the system of principles and processes that direct the goals and objectives of the entity. Since management is ultimately responsible for the actions of the organization, clear definitions and protocols are essential to communicating and enforcing these requirements throughout the company.
What should you be considering when setting up a formal system? The BS 13500 provides clear guidelines to assist you in answering this question. The core contents discuss the principles of governance, and how to set up and implement an effective system.
Five informative Annexes cover the topics you’re interested in:
- Areas that typical governance policies might cover,
- Examples of different stakeholder profiles for different organizations,
- Examples of handling multiple roles,
- Self-assessment checklist, and
- A map of BS 13500 against the UK Corporate Governance Code 2012
If your organization is based in the UK, you’ll definitely want to review this material.
These types of management standards increasingly stem from issues that companies face now-a-days but for which there is relatively little guidance documentation. This British committee developed BS 13500 in order to express the underlying principles that would support a governance effort in any organization. It is not intended as a band-aid to repair existing problems but more as a roadmap to create a company policy that addresses all elements of corporate values and behavior.
You can purchase the BS 13500 at the Document Center web store, www.document-center.com. Or contact us by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com). We provide standards covering all areas of interest, as well as monitoring, reporting and current awareness services for the documents you need. Make us your Standards Experts!
