Governance Watch

Governance Watch - Issue 27

Governance Watch - Issue 27

Equality

This week in Britain we celebrated the centenary of women’s suffrage and (some) women getting the vote. For those of us who have been on social media for years it was also a moment to note how things have changed. Whereas Twitter used to be a useful disruptive tool for the relatively few, it is now a place full of megaphones and businesses and government departments too, who are adept at using it to roll out the marketing and the ‘thunderclaps.’ But who could be churlish about cheerleading for the suffragettes in grim grey February? 

Governance Watch - Issue 26

Governance Watch - Issue 26

#TimesUp And Reputation

Boardrooms all over the world are having to come to grips quickly with the wave of female anger that has been unleashed as women unite to tell their stories of sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace. The #MeToo on Twitter -  representing a ‘hands up’ by those who relayed their experience of sexual predators – was fast followed by #TimesUp after Hollywood came together in a bid to exorcise the sexual workplace ethos now associated with Harvey Weinstein. 

Governance Watch - Issue 25

Governance Watch - Issue 25

Audit, Advice, Governance – And Giant Squids

A warning bell rang out last week with media headlines around audit, consultancy, legal services and governance. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the country’s securities regulator, banned global accountancy firm PwC from auditing listed companies in the country for two years after failing to spot a $1.7bn fraud at Satyam Computer Services. “The order comes nine years after the scam at Satyam Computer Services came to light and after two failed attempts by PwC to settle the case through the consent mechanism” wrote Live Mint. 

Governance Watch - Issue 24

Governance Watch - Issue 24

Watch List

As the year comes to a close, the business media headlines offer clear warning of the need to keep a close eye on the human dimensions of better corporate governance in the challenging environment around Brexit.

Governance Watch - Issue 23

Governance Watch - Issue 23

Far-reaching revisions

The UK’s corporate governance watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) on December 5th revealed its proposals for a revised Corporate Governance Code and as promised, it is “shorter and sharper.” I covered the release in my blog Board Talk with the headline UK Looks To The Future With New Corporate Governance Code.

Governance Watch - Issue 22

Governance Watch - Issue 22

Transparency

Good corporate governance requires transparency. In South Africa, the latest corporate governance code or King 1V, has put transparency at its heart. By contrast, we talk about transparency in corporate governance in the UK, but we keep coming up against walls of silence. Knocking on such a wall may well reveal that it is, in fact, a door. But it is firmly shut because the powers that be think that it’s “best.” 

Governance Watch - Issue 21

Governance Watch - Issue 21

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: THE ESSENCE OF A BUSINESS

The demands of rapid technological transformation are casting fresh light on the urgent need for every business to be able to ‘join the dots’ into a clear line on how it functions on multiple fronts through its own corporate governance.

Governance Watch - Issue 20

Governance Watch - Issue 20

Culture

On a fundamental level, good governance is about good behaviour, and conduct contributes to culture – whether it is business culture, or what is considered acceptable in civil society. In Britain, in corporate governance circles we talk about the need to ‘tone from the top’, with the implication being that those in leadership roles set an example by their behaviour. But when the media headlines are full of revelations about sexual harassment in the corridors of political power, and the country has a female Prime Minister, it all starts to get interesting in terms of the winds of change.

Governance Watch - Issue 19

Governance Watch - Issue 19

Listing Rules

The mutterings have been getting louder since the UK regulator the Financial Conduct Authority first proposed changing the premium listing rules to entice Saudi Aramco to the London market. The pretence of its consideration as a general rule change for ‘state-owned companies’ evaporated even as the announcement was made and hit the media headlines.

Governance Watch - Issue 18

Governance Watch - Issue 18

Trust

'Trust' is a word we have heard a lot of in Britain since the 2008 financial crisis. It has been commonly uttered and muttered by senior names in business, analysed and spun by corporate governance experts, corporate communications, consultancies, think-tanks and politicians. It is well-established as a subject that commands attention, inspires conferences and events, and is an essential component of the relationship between business and society.

Governance Watch - Issue 17

Governance Watch - Issue 17

Audit and Regulation

The reprieve of KPMG, cleared of misconduct by the audit watchdog the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in relation to its work for the UK lender HBOS will not go unmarked. It is likely to take its toll in the ongoing battle for public trust in the financial services sector and in those responsible for its regulation. 

Governance Watch - Issue 16

Governance Watch - Issue 16

Reputation, Reputation, Reputation

What a nasty shock for the UK’s publicly listed companies. Those they entrust to help tell (and sell) their stories to the world don’t all operate with the same moral compass, it seems. Anyone who thought it was like casually looking into a mirror and then being reflected on with added glory will be reconsidering. No, it’s potentially downright dangerous, this vast corporate expenditure on public relations, or #PR.

Governance Watch - Issue 15

Governance Watch - Issue 15

Pensions

All UK plc boardrooms should be watching carefully. Pensions keep coming up in the headlines and the stories rarely reflect well on the businesses concerned. They are increasingly being viewed as a corporate governance issue, and from there it is a small leap to reputation. 

Governance Watch - Issue 14

Governance Watch - Issue 14

Appointments and conflicts

There are so many good corporate governance reasons to read this story with interest. 

The Bank of England has created a new role of ‘conflicts officer’ in the wake of the events resulting in the resignation of its Deputy Governor, Charlotte Hogg. I covered that story at the time here, on Forbes. 

Governance Watch - Issue 13

Governance Watch - Issue 13

Regulation and Accountability

It has been an eventful fortnight in UK financial regulation, spewing food for thought on a whole spate of issues around accountability and trust, and their role in better corporate governance.

Almost exactly nine months ago Andrew Bailey, CEO of the UK regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), spoke out for the first time in the media via an opinion piece in The Guardian to firms that were not applying the senior managers regime that had been in place since March 2016.

Governance Watch - Issue 12

Governance Watch - Issue 12

Gender Diversity

One might think that gender diversity could be the easiest component to achieve of any bid to get true cognitive diversity around a boardroom table. But, despite a great deal of effort in the last six years from the U.K. government, CBI support, and cheerleading from a plethora of independent bodies - all well supported by coverage from the mainstream British business media - one sad fact remains true: progress on gender diversity in U.K. boardrooms seems to stall whenever it thinks nobody is watching.

This is not the place to dwell on ‘why is that, exactly?’ But it is a good place to ask what it is that needs to change. 

Governance Watch - Issue 10

Governance Watch - Issue 10

‘Reputational Deficits’

What on earth, you might well ask, is a ‘reputational deficit’? You would have to ask Uber board member Bill Gurley, who used the term to describe the state of “what is still Silicon Valley’s most successful start-up” as described by the Financial Times. He told the paper: “It is going to take us a while to get out of this” when referring to the mess the company finds itself in after revelations of endemic sexism and a fair amount of hubris within its managerial ranks.

Governance Watch - Issue 8

Governance Watch - Issue 8

Cybersecurity and Diversity

UK plc boardrooms have displayed a tendency to treat the issue of cyber security a bit like a bad smell – ignore it and hope that it goes away quickly. But the unprecedented worldwide cyberattack last weekend that spanned 150 nations and infected over 200,000 computers has quickly made ‘ransomware’ an everyday word, and highlighted the need for cyber security to be at the top of every boardroom’s agenda.

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