Fixed-fee service
Company Governance Review
Know when governance actions are due, who decides what and where consent is missing. We review your governance rules and actual practices, then turn the findings into clearer processes, an action calendar and a prioritised remediation plan.
When this helps
Your company has some governance documents. But does the way decisions are made actually follow them?
As the business grows, informal arrangements can leave management, directors and shareholders unclear about who decides what. Whether the board has requested a review, new investors expect more discipline or a disagreement has exposed uncertainty, we help turn the rules into a practical way of running the company. We also advise on what good governance looks like for your company’s size and stage of growth, without adding layers it does not need.
The results you’ll get
A practical decision and authority map, a clear explanation of gaps and inconsistencies, and a prioritised plan for putting them right. To help you act on that plan, we provide a governance action calendar and up to three routine documents or templates tailored to your priorities, each with step-by-step guidance on how to use it. Less uncertainty about the next decision, more confidence in how the company is run.
Included in the base scope
What we will do
- Discuss current decision-making practices in one information-gathering meeting with the company’s authorised leadership representatives
- Review the agreed core governance documents for one company: articles, shareholders’ agreement, investor consent rights, and any board or committee terms of reference and delegated authorities
- Compare those rules with a sample of up to five recent decisions and their supporting records, rather than audit the company’s full history
- Create a decision and authority map covering management, board, committee, shareholder and investor approvals, and authority to sign
- Prepare a prioritised report explaining gaps, inconsistencies, recommended changes proportionate to your company’s stage of growth, and the approvals needed to make them
- Prepare up to three specified routine documents or templates chosen around your priorities, each with concise, step-by-step guidance on the procedure it supports. Examples include a director appointment resolution, a board or shareholder written-resolution template, a conflict-declaration template or template board minutes for recording decisions
- Build a governance action calendar showing the key steps, deadlines and responsibilities identified in the review
- Explain the findings and next steps in one walkthrough, then clarify or revise the agreed outputs in response to one combined set of comments from your team
What is not included by default
The £2,500 package covers one company, an agreed core document pack and focused remediation, not a full governance restructure. Rewriting articles or a shareholders’ agreement, negotiating investor rights, extensive policy drafting, historic reconstruction and handling an active board or shareholder dispute are not included by default. Neither are Companies House filings, identity verification, filing fees or tax advice. We explain what needs further work and would be happy to discuss it separately.
If your matter needs a wider scope, we explain the option and fee before any extra work begins.
Questions our customers ask
When is a governance review worth doing?
When the board wants decisions handled more consistently, the business has outgrown informal founder approvals, new directors or investors expect clearer processes, or a disagreement has exposed uncertainty about authority. We examine both the rules and a sample of actual decisions. You do not need to wait until something goes wrong to find out whether the company’s governance works in practice.
What governance documents and records should we share?
Examples include your articles of association, shareholders’ agreement, relevant investment agreements and reserved matters, board and committee terms of reference, delegation or authority tables, signing mandates, appointment records and any governance calendar. For the sample of up to five recent decisions, we may review relevant agendas, board packs, minutes, written resolutions, approvals and follow-up records. We agree a proportionate core pack before starting; not every company needs committees or a full set of policies.
What practical fixes are included in the £2,500 fee?
We prepare up to three specified routine remedial documents or templates in accordance with your priorities. Each comes with concise, step-by-step guidance on the procedure it supports. You might choose a director appointment resolution and the steps for making the appointment, a board or shareholder written-resolution template and guidance on passing it, or a conflict-declaration template and guidance on declaring and recording a conflict. Template board minutes or a template share certificate are other options. The guidance accompanies your three selected documents or templates; it is not a separate set of additional procedures. The review, decision and authority map and action calendar are also included. A disputed appointment, share restructuring or rewrite of the shareholders’ agreement is not a routine fix.
Will this clarify what management, the board and investors can decide?
Yes. We bring together the relevant decision-making rules, delegated powers and consent requirements in the agreed documents, distinguish approval from signing authority, and explain escalation points. The map records the current position, including any gaps or inconsistencies we identify. Recommended changes are set out separately, so you can distinguish the rules today from what needs improving.
Can you help if management and the board disagree?
The review can clarify responsibilities, approval requirements and process gaps that are causing friction. If there is an active dispute, contested appointment or deadlock, tell us at the outset. We first establish who can instruct us for the company and check conflicts; contentious advice or representing an individual director or shareholder is separate from this package. A review commissioned by the company is not a mandate to take one director’s side.
Will you rewrite our governance documents or implement every recommendation?
We explain which documents and practices need changing, with recommendations suited to your company’s stage of growth. We then prepare up to three selected routine documents or templates, each with step-by-step guidance on its associated procedure. This is the same three-document allowance described above, not an additional set of fixes. A wider rewrite of articles, shareholder arrangements or committee terms, negotiations over consent rights, extensive policies or implementation across a group needs a separate discussion. The aim of this fixed-fee service is to provide you with a usable framework and focused fixes, not create unnecessary bureaucracy or perform a full governance restructure.
Some historic approvals are missing. Can you put them right?
We identify apparent gaps in the agreed sample and explain sensible next steps. We will not invent a past decision or backdate a record, but there are a number of strategies for putting things right and we can advise on the best path forward for you. However, this is not a full historic audit, a reconstruction of the share history or a formal opinion validating ownership. For investment preparation, see Fundraise Preparation.
Our accountant handles Companies House. Will this duplicate their work?
No need to duplicate good work already in place. We focus on how decisions are taken, approved and recorded, and identify the relevant filing actions and handoffs. Companies House submission, identity verification and filing fees are not included in the standard review. Your accountant or administrator can continue handling those tasks.
Can you maintain the approvals and calendar after the review?
Yes, through an outsourced legal-function plan. The review gives us records and priorities to carry forward. Start a plan within 30 days of completing the project and we credit the project fee you paid, up to £2,500, against month one. The credit reduces your first month’s plan fee; subsequent months are billed at the agreed monthly rate. The credit does not apply to standalone additional projects.
We only need a director appointment or one board approval. Do we need the whole review?
Not necessarily. Get in touch about the decision and existing records, and we can discuss a smaller piece of work and confirm an appropriate fixed fee. If you are unsure which legal gaps matter across the business, the Business Legal Health Check offers a broader first look. A useful starting point should match the problem, not create a larger project than you need.
Get a fixed scope before work starts.
Tell us the decision you need to make, the background and the documentation available. We will confirm the approach, timetable and fee.
Discuss this service