The Role of the President

The President (or Chair) is the leader of the organisation, and bears important responsibilities for leadership of the Board. While an organisation assigns specific roles and duties to the President in its Constitution, Policies and through Board resolutions, the President is usually presumed to have a role in ensuring the overall health and functioning of an organisation.

While specific duties will vary between organisations, the President often undertakes the duties of:

• Chairing Meetings of the Board
• Planning the Agenda of the Board and ensuring sufficient information has been given to Board members
• Being the spokesperson or representative of the Board to outside parties
• Being the “supervisor” of the Executive Officer, and providing the link between the Board and staff through this relationship
• Mediating or otherwise resolving conflict between board members, or staff conflicts unable to be resolved by the Executive Officer

There are some legal precedents that have determined that the President has certain responsibilities beyond those of non-executive directors. This is particularly the case for organisations incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001, and where the organisation is facing financial difficulty. Responsibilities may include:

• Being more active and vigilant with respect to the organisation's financial circumstances, particularly in times of financial difficulty
• Ensuring that the board (or management committee) are properly informed about all relevant matters, in particular, financial matters and issues concerning the organisation's debtors and creditors and other information relevant to potential financial difficulties
• Ensuring that the board adequately, properly and promptly understand and address serious financial concerns of the organisation, if they arise
• Personally assessing the quality, reliability and timeliness of information provided to the board, particularly where it concerns the organisation's deteriorating financial position

Back to Boards: Responsibilities of Office Bearers

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