Centre SME Governance

The GUBERNA Centre SME Governance creates awareness about good governance as a strong driver for sustainable growth and entrepreneurship in Belgian SMEs. It guides SMEs in their governance journey, taking their specific challenges in each phase of their growth into account. After all, good governance is crucial for every company, including your company.

We believe that every SME is unique. Therefore, GUBERNA supports entrepreneurs with the implementation of a pragmatic, flexible and efficient governance policy that is geared to the specific needs of their company and its governance challenges.

With the SME Centre, GUBERNA aims to optimize the structure and functioning of the board of diretors. A strong board, board of directors or advisory board, is reflected in a strong company. GUBERNA also strives to strengthen the good governance building blocks in SMEs with a specific focus on sustainable value creation:

Professional and objective decision-making
Transparency
Definition and delegation of powers
Checks & balances

Being a knowledge institute, we achieve the objectives listed above by completing in-depth research about the different aspects of good governance in SMEs. We then convert the governance subjects and challenges that emerge from our research into pragmatic advise, practical tools and inspiring events and education programmes. These interventions are strongly supported by our partners and their know-how. “Content inspires network, network inspires content.” Good governance is not a one-way street.

What we offer you

With the SME membership we want to create a governance network: a trusted environment where we not only give advice but where we encourage the exchange of experience among peers. Designing good governance practices is no easy task but requires a process of trial and error. Luckily, we can reduce the risks by providing the right support.

Er zijn vandaag uitdagingen op overschot om je onderneming te loodsen naar de toekomst. Good governance is hierin de basis. Het is een cockpit die ervoor zorgt dat je ten allen tijde overzicht blijft behouden voor de wendbaarheid van jouw bedrijf.

Ann Magnus
Zaakvoerder, Magnus Business Gifts

GUBERNA Governance Mentoring voor kmo’s

Via de unieke combinatie van interactieve workshops met een mentoringtraject van ongeveer zes maanden stellen GUBERNA en BDO hun jarenlange expertise ten dienste van uw onderneming en helpen ze u om uw bestuur verder op punt te stellen en te professionaliseren.

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SME incompany training

Would you like to take the governance of your SME to a higher level through tailored advice? In this training, our GUBERNA experts come to your SME to explain the added value, principles, and pitfalls of good governance. Together with you, we look at your SME's objectives, needs and expectations and compile a personalised programme accordingly.

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Veerkracht als attitude in uitdagende tijden?

Resilience as an attitude in challenging times?

Organizational resilience - a review of the literature, with lessons learned from a corporate governance and SME perspective

Corporate Governance Guidance and Principles for Unlisted Companies in Europe

The IRIS book

An efficient and secure digital board of directors

The role of directors in times of crisis

How governing boards address the digital challenge (or not)?

The do's and don'ts of the active director

Cyber-Risk Oversight

The ISA’s cyber-risk handbooks are an attempt to provide Board members with a simple and coherent framework to understand cyber risk, as well as a series of straight-forward questions for Boards to ask management to assure that their organisation is properly addressing its unique cyber-risk posture.

Urgenda: how urgently should climate change be put on the agenda of the board?

On our first digital member forum onthe 21st of April we will reflect upon the impact of the Urgenda legal case on the accountability of companies. But what/who is Urgenda? Why is a court ruling on climate change against the Dutch government significant for Belgian companies? Which lessons can a board of directors take away from this case? And what will be the impact of the current COVID-19 crisis on the climate debate?

Resilience Tips & Tricks - extended

Resilience Tips & Tricks

Resilience Bullet Points

Proxy resolutions following COVID-19 measures

General Member Assembly 2020 - Lessons learned

Monthly Newsletter- March 2020

Consultation on gender imbalance in corporate boards in the EU

Liber Amicorum Prof. Dr. Lutgart Van den Berghe

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GUBERNA Magazine 2019

Want to be kept up-to-date on what is happening in governance and at GUBERNA? Check our 3-lingual magazine.

Opinion - The strength lies in difference, not in equality

UBO-registration latest by 30 September 2019. Already on the agenda of your board of directors?

"Male, pale & stale” is dead, long live diversity!

The 'glass ceiling' is familiar to us all, as are the quota laws, because they are supposed to bring solace. For GUBERNA, however, this is not the focus. We are indeed a great advocate of more women in managerial positions and especially on boards of directors. It is not for nothing that we have been addressing this topic in our operations for a long time. The successful mentoring programme is one example of this. But gender is only one piece of the puzzle. 'Diversity' is the greater goal for GUBERNA.