• Home
»
• News
»
• Sector News
»
• 2013
»
• Chartered Secretaries Australia to rebrand as Governance Institute of Australia

Chartered Secretaries Australia to rebrand as Governance Institute of Australia

Chartered Secretaries Australia (CSA) will be renamed and rebranded the Governance Institute of Australia to more accurately reflect its role as the only professional association in Australia with a sole focus on the practice of governance in all organisations.

At the General Meeting last Friday (20 September 2013) Members delivered a strong mandate for change with 81 per cent voting yes to the proposal. “We recognised at the outset that we needed to better align our goals and message to more accurately reflect the evolution of who we have become, what our members do and who we represent. It was not just about changing the name or logo, but of reflecting the impact on our members from governance responsibilities now cascading through organisations,” CSA’s chief executive Mr Tim Sheehy commented.

“We undertook an extensive process involving membership and stakeholder research to ensure we had a thorough insight into the changing fabric of the organisation to identify how this could best be articulated. “So despite our 100-year history and the strong sense of pride our Members have invested in CSA, the majority recognised the evolution of Members in terms of expanded responsibilities — they are all committed to the responsible performance of their organisations. And there was recognition also of our evolution as the peak body representing those governance and risk practitioners.

“Importantly, the DNA of the organisation will remain the same — an independent voice widely respected by regulators and the broader community and the premier education qualification in governance. But we now represent a much broader church of professionals and our new name Governance Institute of Australia captures this,” Mr Sheehy added.

In fact, CSA Members are often members of other professional bodies and join CSA as their career progresses because they share a common commitment to fostering responsible performance and ethical decision-making across their entire organisation. This is reflected in the changing profile of the membership, which now encompasses not only chartered secretaries but also governance advisers and risk managers.

Today, only 14 per cent of CSA’s membership is dedicated solely to company secretarial practice, while 57 per cent hold broader positions including those in the C-suite, legal practitioners and directors as well as finance and accounting professionals and risk managers, all of whom practise governance within their roles. This dramatic shift in the membership profile is also reflected in CSA’s education and training offerings and advocacy imperatives which cover a broad range of regulatory reforms, making the rebrand the next logical evolution of the organisation.

“While some Members worried that their professional status would be diminished, others regarded the repositioning as wise and saw that it would enhance the credibility of all Members, regardless of job title. “Our new name Governance Institute of Australia enables us to accurately reflect the breadth of the membership, represent our profession with stronger messages, enhance our profile and better communicate that we are genuinely unique in what we offer,” Mr Sheehy added.

The repositioning will be rolled out over the coming months with all new signage and livery completed by February 2014.

For further information contact Viv Hardy at CallidusPR on (02)9283 4113 / 0411 208 951 or Tim Sheehy on 0419 490 594.

About Chartered Secretaries Australia
Chartered Secretaries Australia (CSA) is the independent leader in governance and risk management. As the peak professional body delivering accredited education and the most practical and authoritative training and information in the field, we are focused on improving organisational performance and transparency.