In May, the New Zealand Rugby Union appointed Rugby Southland chief executive Roger Clark as project manager on a three-month contract to look over the franchise and see what changes should be made.
He is due to finish his work early next month.
Highlanders chairman Ross Laidlaw said part of Clark's brief was to look at what would be the best business model for the Highlanders, and for the southern rugby region as a whole.
Clark was not doing his work alone, Laidlaw said.
Board members from the Highlanders and the three provincial unions that make up the franchise - North Otago, Southland and Otago - were also involved.
Laidlaw said they were working through various business models, and no dates had been set for changes.
The Highlanders, effectively owned by the New Zealand Rugby Union, are run on contract from the national union by the Otago Rugby Football Union.
So ORFU chief executive Richard Reid is also the Highlanders chief executive, while other Otago staff such as marketing and ticketing staff, work for both organisations.
Reid spends about half his time on Highlanders business and the rest working for Otago, though that changes depending on the time of year.
But a new role - that of Highlanders chief executive - could be created.
The Highlanders chief executive would have more autonomy from the three provincial unions, and with the Super 15 season lengthening by at least two months next year, might have more on his plate.
But the major drawback to that idea is money.
The position would be costly, and for a cash-strapped organisation, the idea of employing someone to do a job being done by someone else might not appear the wisest of moves.
The Chiefs employ a separate chief executive in Gary Dawson, who left the Waikato union to take on the Chiefs role, but the three other franchises in New Zealand all have chief executives who are also the head of the base unions, at Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury respectively.
ORFU chairman Wayne Graham said yesterday issues were being worked through and there was still plenty to do.
The process was aimed at trying to put in place the best structure and achieve the best results for rugby in the South.
