The NSW Court of Appeal has overturned the decision of the NSW Supreme Court in respect of seven directors who had received bans on serving as directors. The Supreme Court had found that they had breached their duties to the company (James Hardie) in 2001 over a misleading media release about asbestos compensation. The Court […]
Read MoreAFEP-MEDEF has released their second annual report on the application of the French Corporate Governance Code (AFEP-MEDEF Code) by companies in the SBF 120 index. The report highlights an increase from 34% to 40% in the percentage of companies in the CAC 40 where the roles of Chairman and CEO are combined. Across the broader […]
Read MoreThe European Commission this week published a summary of the responses to its Green Paper on Corporate Governance in Financial Institutions. The paper revealed some not so surprising results when it comes to views about the role of institutional investors: many want to see mandatory disclosure of voting policies and records; there’s a widespread desire […]
Read MoreThe carbon footprint reporting of the UK’s top 100 listed companies is highly variable claims Deloitte and only a handful of companies come close to complying with current UK government guidance [1]. According to Deloitte’s analysis, published today, many companies failed to make basic disclosures around the reporting methodology used, or accounting principles applied, highlighting a lack of transparency around […]
Read MoreNYSE Euronext has flagged a move away from a prescriptive rules-based governance regime to a market-based, principles approach. After a year long investigation headed by Larry Sonsini, chairman of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the NYSE Commission on Corporate Governance has published ten key principles for what it calls “solid governance”. In a statement announcing […]
Read MoreThe South African Times has reported that a ‘group of stakeholders within the investor community have with the assistance of The Institute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoDSA) convened a committee for the drafting of a code for responsible shareholder investing’. The new Code is expected to supplement the existing King III Corporate Governance Code […]
Read MoreThe Dodd-Frank financial reform bill was voted through by both the House of Representatives and Senate by 237-192 and 60-39 respectively. The legislation is now expected to be signed into law by President Obama as early as this week. The passage of the bill is particularly significant for the corporate governance community which worked together […]
Read MoreA consultation paper has been published by the Irish Stock Exchange in which it proposes the introduction of an Irish Corporate Governance Code, a draft copy of which has been published. The proposed Code supplements the existing Combined Code (being renamed the UK Corporate Governance Code) with some of the key recommendations of the report […]
Read MoreThe UK has offered a new template for global governance with the introduction of the first formal code of conduct for investors. Under the watchful eye of the Financial Reporting Council, it is hoped that the Stewardship code will, as Chairman Baroness Hogg said: “be a catalyst for better engagement between shareholders and companies and create a […]
Read MoreAs Prudential has recently found to its cost, it’s generally worth while keeping shareholders in the loop. Whereas UK and European companies are generally welcoming of investor dialogue to the extent it is enshrined in national governance codes, any meaningful dialogue with US-listed companies has been fraught with difficulties. For the past decade directors and […]
Read More