What Makes a Great Board? How it works together. Who sits around the table.

Independent Audit and Broadgate bring complementary perspectives on board effectiveness, leadership and succession, helping boards build the capabilities they need now and the resilience to sustain them.

Explore the partnership The SIU event · 16 Nov

How we work together

Board effectiveness has two halves.

HOW the board works INDEPENDENT AUDIT WHO sits at the table BROADGATE BOTH
Effective governance depends on understanding board performance, addressing leadership gaps and planning for succession. Independent Audit identifies opportunities to improve board effectiveness. Broadgate provides the specialist search and assessment expertise to strengthen leadership and appoint regulator-ready talent. Together, we help boards turn insight into action.

How· Independent Audit

Board reviews designed to help people lead complex organisations better.

Independent Audit are governance specialists. They look beyond compliance to help boards understand how they can contribute to a more successful business. Their model covers the twelve foundational areas critical to a board’s success, and every review is led by seasoned experts. A CGI Accredited Board Reviewer, working with boards across the UK, Ireland and the EU.

UK · Ireland · EU

Services
  • Externally-facilitated board reviews, required every three years for UK listed companies and widely followed elsewhere as good practice
  • Internally-facilitated and self-assessment board reviews
  • Thinking Board®, an online governance assessment platform
  • Committee evaluations
  • Individual director evaluations
  • Group and subsidiary board evaluations
  • Internal and external audit effectiveness reviews
  • Risk and compliance reviews: risk management, risk governance, cyber risk and risk culture
The twelve foundational areas
What we do StrategyManagement TeamFinancial OversightRisk ManagementPeople & CultureStakeholders
How we do it CompositionDynamicsInformationMeetingsCommitteesDevelopment
independentaudit.com

Who· Broadgate

Board & executive searchfor regulator-ready leadership

Broadgate is a specialist financial services search firm, appointing senior leaders into regulated businesses across the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, the EU and the US. Every board and executive mandate runs through the Fit & Proper Framework™, a proprietary twelve-step assessment process with a track record of FCA, PRA, CBI and FINMA approvals, and a focus on cultural fit, competency and succession. Part of Trinnovo Group, a certified B Corp.

UK · Ireland · EU · Switzerland · US

Services
  • Executive search for SMF (UK), PCF (Ireland) and FINMA responsible person (Switzerland) appointments
  • Non-executive, INED, SID and Chair appointments
  • Permanent and interim
  • Fit & Proper Framework™: 12-step assessment, RAG-rated independent reports, 12-week SLA
  • Succession by Design™: succession planning and C-suite development
  • Regulator-ready coaching: SMF and PCF interview readiness and approval preparation
  • Statement of Work and project-based support for defined governance and change programmes
70+

Net Promoter Score against an industry average of +40

2,000+

Successful placements made

14

Countries with a proven recruitment track record

36%

Of revenue is referral and community-based

broadgatesearch.com
Guests in conversation at a Conversationalist Series reception beneath the Presidents' board

The Conversationalist Series

Where these conversations Happen

Independent Audit and Broadgate bring Chairs, NEDs, INEDs and governance leaders together to discuss the realities facing modern boards. The focus is what boards wrestle with: effectiveness, succession, culture and oversight. These events are highly curated, invitation only, and deliberately small to ensure relevance and encourage contribution for every attendee.

Format
Panel, then dedicated networking
Who attends
Chairs, NEDs, INEDs, board leaders

Upcoming & past

In the room where it’s decided

The Euronext video wall on the Dublin Stock Exchange market floor carrying Conversationalist Series branding

Dublin16 November 2026With Independent Audit

The Conversationalist Series: Ireland’s boardroom view on the SIU

Hosted by Euronext on the Market Floor of the historic Dublin Stock Exchange. A select group of senior leaders from across Ireland’s financial services sector, discussing the Savings and Investment Union and what it means for boardrooms in Ireland.

Panel

Moderated by Richard Pike, Chair of FBD Insurance. With Mícheál O’Keeffe (Central Bank of Ireland), Dr Jakub Michalik (Euronext) and Lisa Harlow (Vanguard Group Ireland).

Register your interest
The exterior of Euronext Dublin, The Exchange, Foster Place

Previous eventWhitepaper

What good challenge looks like in the boardroom

The write-up from the last Conversationalist Series evening, covering how boards challenge well, hold executives to account, and keep scrutiny constructive rather than adversarial.

Download the whitepaper