What benefits does the Solomon365 platform offer an organization?

Greater confidence:
Board and management partner to both create and protect enterprise value.

Tighter focus:
The board and committees devote their time and attention to the right issues at the right level of detail.

Clearer roles:
Management, the board and its committees are fully aligned and clear on their individual and collective roles.

Integrated perspective:
Monitoring functions present a unified view of organization health.

Enhanced trust:
Board, management and stakeholders strengthen their relations internally and externally.

How is the Solomon365 platform delivered to organizations?

The platform is available to all types and sizes of organizations on an annual subscription basis.

As a “cloud-based” platform, this web-based tool offers subscriber organizations secure, 24/7 access.

• Enhancements, new features and system upgrades are automatically provided to current subscribers for no additional fee.
• A variety of user access levels can be created, enabling broad and controlled use across the company.
• The Solomon365 platform is built and hosted on one of the internet’s most secure, scalable and proven application platforms.

A three-hour basic orientation on the platform is included in the first year’s annual subscription fee and delivered by the Equipping Team of Integrated Governance Solutions (IGS).

What is a typical use case within an organization?

Equipping the General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, CFO, risk managers (and staff) with Solomon365 platform resources has proven most effective for organizations, and helps these important roles become a conduit of continuous improvement to the CEO, board chair, governance committee chair, audit committee chair and the board as a whole.

• Risk modules:
  • Serve as a key resource for those management roles responsible for the risk management process—CFO, General Counsel, Chief Risk Officer, among others.

• Board modules:
  • Serve as a key resource for management roles with primary board interaction—General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, for example.
  • In addition to their use as an equipping resource for management, these modules can be deployed directly with the board—either by an equipped management team, and/or with facilitation by the Solomon365 platform Equipping Team.

• The Solomon365 platform’s integrated Risk/Board module capabilities:
  • Both module sets help management and the board clarify the often challenging intersection of management’s responsibility to manage risk and the board’s responsibility to oversee and advise on risk.

How does the Solomon365 platform compare to other risk/board governance resources I'm using?

Unlike GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) tools, which serve primarily as data warehouses to help track actual practices against an organization’s risk appetite, internal policies and external regulations, the Solomon365 platform helps an organization achieve greater governance effectiveness and efficiency beyond these functional basics.  The Solomon365 platform recommends practical action steps in response to diagnostic assessments and improvement priorities and, as a result, helps you:

• Coordinate risk perspectives and processes
• Simplify connections among risk, strategy and operations
• Integrate perspectives of key business monitoring disciplines
• Clarify practices, roles and processes for board, committees and management
• Prioritize a board’s activities and time allocations
• Enhance board relationships and operating dynamics

Unlike traditional board assessments, which typically evaluate individual director or overall board performance but too often have limited impact and effectiveness, the Solomon365 platform elevates this practice in five important aspects:

• Helps board and management assess and improve relationship dynamics that are critical to board performance
• Provides not just evaluation, but a 5-step process that generates clear and actionable plans and improvements
• Lays out practical improvement options in response to diagnostic self-assessments and resulting priorities, allowing an organization to build a customized action plan based on its unique needs and realities
• Offers a suite of board/risk governance tools to help enhance board effectiveness across multiple fronts—board practices, roles and processes; board time priorities and allocations; enhanced relationships and operating dynamics; and risk-informed practices and committee structures
• Provides the option of either a facilitated approach or equipping an organization or team to self-administer the assessment and action plan development.

What services are available to support the Solomon365 platform subscribers?

The Equipping Team of Integrated Governance Solutions (IGS) offers two levels of service to support platform subscribers:

• Guided Diagnostics – the organization is guided through a 5-step equipping process on any of the Solomon365 modules.  The five steps are – Orient (attend training session), Assess (complete the diagnostic), Analyze (analyze and discuss results), Prioritize (make decisions about improvement priorities), and Improve (create a time-dimensioned improvement plan).  This approach is best suited for those that seek third-party expertise and support to fully equip their organization in the use of the platform.  Note: for this option, IGS recommends that subscriber organizations start with the RiskCoordination and the BoardPractices modules in order to become fully equipped for future self-administration of the remaining board and risk tools and modules.

• Guided Implementation – to help facilitate execution of the desired improvements, the organization is provided detailed assistance with the implementation plans that result from the 5-step equipping process previously outlined.  This assistance will further equip the organization to fully leverage the capabilities and knowledge capital of the Solomon365 platform to drive long-term, sustainable performance improvement.

What types of companies subscribe to the Solomon365 platform?

Forward-thinking companies (both public and private) committed to achieving and sustaining the highest standards of board and risk governance are leading subscribers to the Solomon365 platform content.

Companies committed to both continuous governance improvement and not creating an operating burden value the Solomon365 platform’s practical 5-step improvement process, complete with best practices and straightforward tools/templates.

Companies that prefer to develop internal capabilities—as opposed to relying on third-party consultants—really appreciate the Solomon365 platform’s equipping approach and functionality as a year-round, 24/7 go-to resource.