Complying with your Governing Documents

Organisations can be governed by several different types of documents. Your company may be governed by articles, bylaws, rules, chartered documents or a combination of these.

We can help by checking that your governing documents are up-to-date, support a good governance framework and are streamlined and easy to follow.

What is a governing document?

A governing document specifies the way in which your organisation is set up and how it is run, governed and owned.

For most companies, this document will be its articles of association, as it is a legal requirement for a company to be constituted under the Companies Act 2006. The document forms part of the company’s constitution and defines the responsibilities of the directors, the kind of business to be undertaken, and the means by which the shareholders can exert control over the board of directors.

In addition, some companies may have other governing documents such as rules, bylaws or standing orders. For example, community benefit societies are governed by rules, while some organisations may have been set up in a different way, for example, by Royal Charter (the BBC, some universities, some hospitals and the Bank of England). Regardless of their type, organisations are obliged to adhere to these constitutional documents.

What can Bridgehouse do to assist?

At Bridgehouse, we are expert at reviewing and drafting governing documents to ensure compliance.

Our services include:
  • Reviewing current governing documents including articles, rules, standing orders, bylaws
  • For private companies, drafting new bespoke articles or adoption of model articles
  • For housing organisations, drafting new rules based on the National Housing Federation Model rules
  • For membership organisations, drafting bespoke articles supported by clear bylaws
  • Making recommendations to improve rules, bylaws and standing orders
  • Assistance with the necessary approvals of changes to governing documents (including any regulatory approval that may be required)
  • Ongoing compliance with the governing documents

If you’d like to know more about governing documents, please get in touch.