First Choice Housing Association strengthens governance with OneAdvanced

The challenge 

Before implementing OneAdvanced Governance and Risk Management, FCHA relied on a paper-based approach to board meetings. Board packs were printed and distributed manually, creating a significant administrative workload for governance teams.

Board members would often review papers for the first time during meetings, meaning valuable time was spent clarifying information rather than discussing key issues and making decisions.

Governance activities were also managed across multiple systems. Risk registers and audit actions were typically tracked through spreadsheets, making reporting time-consuming and reducing visibility across governance processes.

As governance requirements increased and expectations around accountability, transparency and efficiency continued to grow, FCHA recognised the need for a more modern, streamlined and auditable approach.

What made the difference

OneAdvanced Governance and Risk Management brought governance activity together within a single, secure platform.

The solution supports:

• Board and committee meetings
• Digital distribution of meeting papers
• Pre-meeting review, comments and questions
• Risk management
• Audit action tracking
• Fast, accurate reporting

The platform was quickly adopted across the organisation thanks to its intuitive design and straightforward onboarding process. Board members now use the solution as standard, while new users are introduced to the platform during induction.

By providing a central location for governance activity, Governance and Risk Management has helped ensure information remains accessible, up to date and easy to manage across the organisation.

 

What changed

Since implementing Governance and Risk Management, FCHA has achieved improvements across board effectiveness, reporting, compliance and sustainability.

More strategic board meetings

Board members can now review papers, ask questions and add comments before meetings take place.

This preparation means issues can be addressed in advance, allowing meetings to focus on discussion, insight and decision making rather than clarification.

"We are saving an awful lot of time… the meetings can now be more strategic," says Sophie.

Significant efficiency gains

Time savings extend beyond meetings themselves.

Reporting, audit tracking and governance administration have become faster and more efficient. Information that previously required significant manual effort can now be produced quickly and reliably, helping senior leaders access the information they need, when they need it.

Improved visibility of risk and compliance

Risk management and audit actions are now tracked within a single platform rather than across disconnected spreadsheets.

This provides clearer oversight for board members and committees, helping strengthen governance, improve accountability and support compliance requirements.

Reduced paper use and costs

Moving away from printed board packs has delivered environmental and operational benefits.

The organisation has reduced printing costs and paper consumption while supporting wider decarbonisation initiatives and more sustainable ways of working.