Sage Public Affairs - Championing our customers

Sage (FTSE:SGE) is the global market leader for technology that helps businesses manage everything from money to people. We do this through Sage Business Cloud, a suite of cloud-based business management solutions.

Today Sage has three million business customers, ranging from startup to scaleup, across 23 countries, and a network of 13,000 colleagues, accountants and partners.

Rationale

Sage's mission is to transform the way people think and work so that their organisations can thrive.  Our public affairs programme is designed to support this mission by:

• Working with governments and stakeholders to create the right conditions for tech innovation and application to deliver growth and prosperity.
• Anticipating our customers' needs to ensure their voice is heard in public policy debates.  Just as our tech empowers our customers, our campaigns will do the same.

Governance

Responsibility for the co-ordination and oversight of political engagement rests with the Director of Government Relations, reporting to EVP of Communications and Sage Group's CMO on our Executive Committee.  The Government Relations team sits within the marketing function.

Implementation is supported by regional Managing Directors in key markets and their regional Comms leaders.   

The Board has collective responsibility and oversight of Sage's communications activities. The Board will review and approve any public position the company intends to take with regard to strategically important matters.

Our conduct, and the conduct of any part of our business with government, follows rules based on the following principles:

• We are open and transparent about our relationship with Government - for example We routinely share our politically related activities on social channels.
• Our advice to our customers on government initiatives is informative and politically neutral.
• We put our customers' interests first when we prioritize government relations activities.
• All Sage colleagues take part in ethics and anti-corruption training.
• Sage does not make any contributions to or accept any gifts or hospitality from Government, public sector officials or representatives, political parties, campaigns, organisations or individuals involved in politics.¹  
• We will only make charitable donations that are legal and ethical under local laws and practices. All charitable donations must go through the Sage Foundation.

Sage publishes a Code of Conduct which brings together our ethical business practice policies and guides our colleagues where to find them.

All Sage colleagues receive training in Sage's Code of Conduct and associated policies, completion of which is reported to the Audit and Risk Committee monitor. 

Sage Public Affairs Submissions

• Submission to the Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy enquiry into Building our Industrial Strategy: Green Paper April 2017
• Submission to the Education Select Committee enquiry into the implementation of T-level programmes Feb 2018
• Submission to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee Inquiry into Small Business and Productivity March 2018
• Submission to the Public Accounts Committee Inquiry on the progress of HMRC performance April 2018
• Submission to the Education Select Committee inquiry into the Fourth Industrial Revolution June 2018
• Sage response - BEIS consultation on responsible payment Nov 18 November 2018
• Ethnicity Pay Reporting - Sage Consultation response FINAL 11 Jan 19 January 2019
• submission to the high level group on artificial intelligence draft ethics guidelines for trust January 2019

Reports

Sweating the Small Stuff: the impact of the bureaucracy burden

Looking at the impacts of administration on SMEs Sep 2017

The state of small business: Putting UK entrepreneurs on the map

Mapping the UK SMEs and addressing factors impacting growth locally Oct 2017

Whitepaper:  Building a competitive, ethical AI economy

Setting out a roadmap to help businesses implement ethical AI Aug 2018

Public Affairs Agencies

US:

• Playground

Trade Associations

Sage is a member of a number of leading business trade associations globally. Membership trade body working groups must be approved by a member of ExCo.

The Government Relations team manages public policy engagement with the following:

UK:

• techUK
  
• CBI

US:

• Technology Association of Georgia

Spain:

• CEOE
  
• British Chamber of Commerce in Spain

Political expenditure

Sage does not engage in party political campaigning or make party political donations.

Lobbying expenditure

Sage complies with applicable laws and requirements in relation to the disclosure and publication of lobbying expenditure. 

Further information can be found on the EU register

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[1] Sage's Gifts and Hospitalities Policy states:

• Sage does not make any contributions to or accept any gifts or hospitality from Government, public sector officials or representatives, political parties or campaigns or organisations or individuals involved in politics. We will only make charitable donations that are legal and ethical under local laws and practices. All charitable donations must go through the Sage Foundation.