What corporate affairs does

A management function

A corporate affairs team needs access to decisions while there is still something to assess or change. If it first hears about a project after approval, its advice is confined to explaining a decision it had no opportunity to inform.

For example, a proposed change to a service may make operational sense while creating a problem for a group of customers. Corporate affairs can identify the affected group, test the explanation and advise leaders on consultation before the implementation timetable is settled. Operations still owns the service decision; the function makes the external consequences visible to that decision-maker.

Responsibilities and boundaries

The mix of responsibilities varies with the organisation. It may include government relations, stakeholder and community engagement, issues management, media and internal communications. The defining requirement is a connection between those activities and management’s decisions.

Corporate affairs relies on the evidence and authority of other functions. It cannot determine a technical impact, give legal advice or commit the organisation to a remedy without the responsible people. A useful operating arrangement makes those responsibilities clear and provides a route for disagreements to reach the decision-maker.

Assessing the contribution

Leaders can assess the function by examining the decisions it informed, the quality of relationships and information it maintained, and whether material issues reached management in time. The volume of announcements or meetings is an activity measure and needs to be considered alongside what that activity achieved.

For a practical operating plan, see planning a year of corporate affairs work. The comparison with public relations explains where responsibilities can overlap.