Supervision in the non-profit sector
  Prof. Dr. Jaap Koelewijn’s lecture focused on supervision in
  the non-profit sector. During his talk, he made frequent
  comparisons to supervisory activities in the financial world,
a sector with which he is very familiar. In the commercial world, stakeholders are the ones that carry the risks, while in the non-profit sector there are no risk bearers — or at least not to the same degree as there are in the business sector. According to Koelewijn, accountability in the non-profit sector is a much more complicated issue than it is in the corporate world, as it is not always clear who non-profit organizations are actually accountable to. There are less hierarchical responsibilities. In Koelewijn’s opinion, structures need to be created that allow for horizontal accountability, shifting the power balance from higher-ranking individuals towards coordinating bodies. Organizations within the non-profit sector increasingly are being held accountable for issues. The Supervisory Board must therefore play a role in finding an answer to the question of how to handle this accountability.

After lunch, Prof. Dr. Henk Langendijk discussed internal and external financial reporting.

Supervision during a crisis
Prof. Steven Schuit, LLM,  threw his light on the expectations of the end of the economic crisis. He does not believe the crisis to be over by the end of 2009. In his view, 2010 will also be a ‘problematic year’. He believes that Supervisory Boards should insist on playing a more advisory role in organizations, and that (pro-active) advice is more important than (reactive) supervision. To illustrate this point he spoke about ‘back-seat drivers’, where the car’s driver continues to drive while receiving instructions and directions from the person sitting in the back seat.  However, he warned, Supervisory Boards should not climb into the driver’s seat! Additionally, Schuit warned against replacing management teams too quickly during times of crisis, which he believes can create problems.

Discussion
After Prof. Schuit’s lecture, the participants formed groups and discussed the major dilemmas their own organizations are facing, now and in the near future. How does one become a meaningful supervisor or supervisory director? Where do the organization’s new priorities lie? The participants were then given the opportunity to engage in a discussion with a panel of experienced supervisors: Dien de Boer-Kruyt, Joop Drechsel and Inge Brakman.

The day was concluded with a ‘fireside meeting’ about ABN AMRO with Jeroen Smit, author of The perfect prey. 



For more information about the program, see: NCD-Nyenrode Commissarissencyclus