Good governance is vital and underpins the long-term performance of our own business as well as that of our portfolio companies. We insist that companies have regular, structured board meetings with supporting papers, undertake regular strategic planning, and have a clear focus on the revenue opportunities and operational improvements that will drive shareholder value.
In addition to this, and relevant to this policy, we expect our portfolio businesses to ensure that responsibility for ESG related matters is designated to an individual with suitable authority and that ESG matters are considered at board level on a periodic basis.
Governance remains a top priority across our portfolio:
Source: Dunedin ESG audits, 2019
GPS – harnessing technology to ensure compliance
GPS is the global payments processor and tech powerhouse behind some of the most exciting digital banks, challenger banks, fintechs and financial institutions globally. The paytech industry is not currently regulated but GPS has taken a very strong line in conducting its business as if it was, following stringent governance and compliance practices. Their excellent compliance is attractive to clients, e.g. tier one banks which require written compliance confirmation to allow them to measure their own compliance.
Tech runs through the core of the business and that is no exception when it comes to good governance. GPS has built a market leading training and development hub, customising the My Learning Hub platform, to ensure it meets its governance objectives across all of its international sites.
The platform plays a vital role in onboarding new staff and 3rd party contractors. Every new start must pass basic compliance training covering anti-money laundering, cyber security, bribery & corruption, and GDPR. Based on their role they may also need to cover additional areas such as protected characteristics and unconscious bias. Failure to complete the training will result in failure to progress beyond probation.
The platform also has a vital role to play in maintaining training standards and compliance, through the delivery of on-line automated tests. 100% of staff need to continue to meet minimum training requirements and any individual falling below those standards would be automatically red flagged and investigated.
Importantly the platform can be audited – auditors interrogate the system direct, as well as receiving printed reports from GPS, which can be prepared at the touch of a button. Reports can be created at a top level across the entire firm or down to the individual level. The platform also allows GPS to report on training and development spend by department.