Conflicts & Interests

Directors need to declare their material personal interests and manage any conflicts they raise. Future Boards keeps each director's register of interests, shows the board who has declared what, and checks each meeting agenda against those registers so possible conflicts are raised before the meeting.

The register of interests and conflict checks are turned on per organisation. If you don't see My interests in the sidebar, contact Future Boards support.

Declare an interest

1. Select My interests in the sidebar.
2. Select Add interest.
3. Choose the Type: Directorship or office, Shareholding, Relationship (family or business), or Other.
4. Enter the Company, trust or person, and an ABN or ACN (optional).
5. Describe the Nature of the interest, for example your role or the size of a shareholding.
6. Set the Date declared, and a Date ceased (optional) if it has already ended.
7. Select Add interest.

If you have a director profile, the From your director profile card lists your board seats. Tick the ones to add and select Add selected to register to declare them as directorships in one step.

Change or end an interest

Your current interests are listed under Current interests.

• Select Change to record a change. The previous version stays in your register's history.
• Select Mark ceased and enter the Date ceased when an interest ends. It moves to Ceased interests and stays on your register with that date.
• Select Withdraw on a ceased interest to withdraw it.

Select View history to see every change to your register.

Confirm your register

From time to time you should confirm that your register is complete and correct.

1. On My interests, find the Declaration card.
2. Select Declare and confirm.
3. Read the confirmation, then select Confirm declaration.

The board sees the date and time of your declaration. The card shows Up to date after you confirm, and Changed since confirmed if you change an interest afterwards.

View the board register

The Board register tab shows the Register of Interests: what each director has declared and when they last confirmed it. Directors who haven't confirmed show Never confirmed or Not confirmed. Select a director to see their current and ceased interests and their history.

Organisation owners and admins see every director. Other members see the directors they share a board with, and themselves. If your organisation has more than one legal entity, use Entity to narrow the register to one entity's directors.

Handle conflicts on a meeting agenda

Before a meeting, Future Boards compares each agenda item's title, description and paper names with each board member's current register of interests. A match is a *possible conflict*. Only that director and the chair can see it.

If you are a director

1. When the meeting shows a message that an agenda item may conflict with your register, select Review conflicts.
2. For each match, choose It applies or Doesn't apply.
3. If it applies, enter how to Describe the interest for the minutes and select Declare conflict.

Only you can confirm or dismiss a match. You can later select Withdraw declaration if needed.

A declared conflict means you can't vote on that item's decisions. Your vote is refused and you are left out of the count.

If you are the chair

Select Review conflicts to see possible and declared conflicts for directors on the board. During the meeting, enter the Time and select Record stepping out when a conflicted director leaves, and Record return when they come back.

Declarations, stepping out and returning, and who didn't vote are included in the draft minutes. See Minutes and Resolutions & voting.