Retirement Fund Industry
CGA will shortly be launching a new product aimed at the retirement fund industry and, in particular, pension fund trustees.

CGA has been involved in the working group of the Financial Services Board (FSB) in formulating and developing corporate governance guidelines for pension fund trustees. Its is ultimately the intention of the FSB to publish these guidelines to assist pension fund trustees in fulfilling their statutory, fiduciary and governance obligations to their beneficiaries and to the regulator itself.

The Pension Fund Product (PFP) will provide trustees with a comprehensive tool to assist them in meeting the requirements of the FSB guidelines and governance best practice. The PFP software will incorporate complete guidelines, templates and relevant pro forma documentation to empower the trustees and the Principal Officer to implement the necessary systems, architecture, controls and processes to ensure compliance, and will be designed to enable a seamless internal application. In addition, the PFP will have additional features that will enable trustees to generate the requisite reports to beneficiaries and regulatory authorities that meet the requirements of full and transparent disclosure.

In addition to trained consultants who will provide trustees with the requisite assistance for the implementation of the PFP, CGA will be on call to provide ongoing advice and assistance to enable the full integration of the PFP.

Once the pensions fund trustees have implemented the PFP programmes, CGA will provide a formal certification as a public statement of conformance.

Asset Management Industry
Simultaneously with the launch of the Pension Fund Product (PFP) programmes, CGA will be releasing the Asset Management Product (AMP).

The PFP programme will, inter alia, require asset managers to meet the requirements of the guidelines set by the Financial Services Board (FSB). It is anticipated that these guidelines will incorporate the recommendations of organisations such as the International Corporate Governance Network as well as those of King III and related best practice standards. Some of these requirements will mean that Asset Managers will have to advise the trustees of their corporate governance policies and investment criteria, the resources applied to the same and how they are monitored. Furthermore, in conformance with governance best practice, Asset Managers will have to be in a position to report more fully and comprehensively, not only on investment performance, but also on matters relating to governance best practice. One example of such reporting is how they have voted on major governance matters in companies in which they have invested the trustees' funds.

By utilising the AMP programme, Asset Managers will now be able to comply fully with the corporate governance standards and requirements set by Trustees and to report fully thereon. The AMP programme is designed to integrate seamlessly with the PFP programme, thereby enabling Asset Managers to report quickly and easily as required in terms of trustee mandates and governance best practice.

In addition to providing the requisite assistance for the implementation of the AMP, CGA will be on call to provide ongoing advice and assistance to enable the full integration of the AMP with the internal IT systems, as well as the PFP programmes of the trustees.

As with the other Products developed by CGA, once the Asset Managers have fully implemented the AMFP programmes, CGA will provide a formal certification as a public statement of conformance.

Listed and Private Companies
With the new Corporate Product programme (CP) that CGA will be releasing shortly, companies will be provided with all the requisite guidelines, templates and tools required to enable them to ensure that they meet the standards and requirements as recommended by King III. From a listed company perspective, this will enable them to meet the listing requirements of the JSE and place them in a position to satisfy the standards of conformance set by Asset Managers.

As the implementation of the CP will be self-administered and controlled, companies will be empowered to ensure compliance themselves without the need for external consultants. This will reduce costs and place control over the implementation solely in the hands of management. As part of the service, if required, CGA consultants will be on call to provide ongoing advice and assistance.

The CP programme will be adapted to the needs of the particular sector or industry needs of particular companies and will have additional enhancements to facilitate the compilation of draft Annual Reports which conform to the Global Reporting Initiative requirements. Furthermore, the programme will incorporate guidelines for compliance with the requirements to meet the benchmarks of the Social Responsibility Index established by the JSE.

Again, once the CP programme has been fully implemented by the company, it may apply to CGA for a formal certification of conformance, which will provide public recognition of the company's achievements in this regard.

NGOs and Non-Profit Organisations
Ever increasing pressure is being brought to bear by the donor community on the NGO and non-profit sectors to ensure that they conform to corporate governance best practice standards. As a result, and in order to meet the needs of this sector, CGA will shortly be releasing a software application know as the NGOP.

The purpose of the NGOP programme will be to provide NGOs and non-profit organisations with all the requisite tools, guidelines, controls and processes required to enable them to create their own governance systems and architecture to conform to international best practice standards.

By implementing the NGOP programme, NGOs and non-profit organisations should be in a position to meet and satisfy any donor requirements with regard to governance issues.

Built into the NGOP programme will be mechanisms enabling these bodies to monitor and record their progress with regard to donor mandates and controls, especially with regard to major risk management issues. Furthermore, minimum reporting enhancements will enable them to report regularly and meaningfully to donors on the state of their progress with regard to the various projects being undertaken.

In addition to providing the requisite assistance for the implementation of the NGOP, CGA will be on call to provide ongoing advice and assistance to enable the full integration of the NGOP with the internal IT systems, as well as any programmes of donors.

Those implementing the NGOP programmes may, one they have fully completed the requisite criteria, apply to CGA for a formal certification of compliance that will serve as a formal recognition of conformance and should facilitate accessing future donor financing.

Public Service Industry Public
Government, including local, provincial and national departments, and state owned enterprises are expected to demonstrate their conformance standards to satisfy the expectations of their stakeholders and the general public. The Products on state owned enterprises, the requirements of the Public Services Financial Management Act (PFMA) and National Treasury Regulations, as well as the recommendations of King III are just some of the major issues that need to be taken into account by these bodies when striving to meet corporate governance standards and best practice. In addition, there may be particular additional legislative requirements with which they must comply, in the interests of transparency and accountability.

For this reason, CGA is developing the Public Service Product (PSP) programme which will provide these organisations with all the relevant tools, guidelines, templates and processes to enable them, through internal application, to meet the necessary compliance standards. An enhancement of the PSP programme will be a tailor-made risk management facility to monitor and track major capital expenditure projects, especially with regard to infrastructure and related service provision.

Through the implementation of the PSP programme, organisations in the public sector will be able to report more fully and transparently on their various activities in accordance with the requirements of the PFMA and related regulatory obligations.

CGA consultants will be on call to provide ongoing advice and assistance to enable the full integration of the PSP with the internal IT systems as well as any issues relating to proper implementation. Dependent on the progress with regard to the implementation of the PSP programme and the additional audit criteria set by CGA, these organisations may also qualify for a formal certification of compliance by CGA.