Governance

Last year was a headline-making year in the governance space, with the evolving purpose of a corporation and other prescient topics generating national attention. PwC’s Paula Loop highlights governance trends boards need to be aware of in 2020. It’s 2020 – the beginning of a new year and decade – and the dialogue and sentiment around business is changing. What...

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has just published a new report on collective, holistic corporate governance. "Horizon 2020" focuses on strategic intelligence for boards as we enter the new, fast-changing decade. As we’ve seen this year, public companies face a host of challenges not limited to fluctuating economic conditions, geopolitical instability and regulatory regimes. More than 35 Freshfields attorneys came...

Once upon a time, a corporate compliance program might have been a “nice to have” element. Those days are gone. Marc Tasse concludes a two-part series on reputational risks with a framework for building a robust E&C program. Read Part 1 here. A Corporate Compliance Program is an Absolute “Must Have” Over the last few years, we have observed a...

The reputational risk that can result from allegations of noncompliance with corruption, bribery or money-laundering regulations is one of the biggest threats facing organizations today. Marc Tasse begins to detail what organizations can do to protect against reputational harm. Corruption, perhaps more than anything, risks irreparably damaging a hard-earned reputation. While reputation risk due to corruption goes along with other...

ESG concerns are increasingly impacting shareholder activism, in turn pressuring boards to engage with investors on these subjects. Farient Advisors’ Marc Hodak shares the way these trends will shape investor relations, corporate governance and compliance. Corporate Compliance Insights: How has the investor ecosystem changed in recent years? What pressures now exist for companies that haven’t previously? Marc Hodak: Historically, companies...

FiscalDoctor CEO and President Gary Patterson discusses takeaways from the latest NACD Public Company Governance Survey – guidance pertinent for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) and large organizations alike. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) must often live with the reality of scarce resources: limited time, insufficient money for open CAPEX needs and inadequate access to key expertise. Here, I address...

Directors are more focused on non-shareholder needs than the public and media believe. This is according to the just-released report from Diligent Institute and Stanford University's Rock Center for Corporate Governance. The report paints a nuanced picture of how board directors are managing shareholder and stakeholder interests and where improvements can be made. Some key findings and topics include: Commitment...

Ola Tucker, founder of Compliance Notes, discusses the board of director’s oversight role with respect to a financial institution’s BSA/AML compliance program, as well as the specific responsibilities arising out of that role. Anti-money laundering compliance has been a main focus of regulators and prosecutors in recent years. This is evidenced by the increase in criminal and regulatory penalties imposed...

Women are still largely under-represented on corporate boards globally, and progress to change this trend continues to be slow. Deloitte's 6th edition of the "Women in the Boardroom" report outlines efforts and progress made in over 60 countries to increase the number of women occupying board seats. The report also features perspectives of three non-executive directors from Australia, Spain and...

Talent is every organization’s lifeblood. Jim DeLoach discusses how, coupled with demographic and social trends, the technologies of the digital age are transforming the workplace. Executives and directors need to pay attention as electronic workers (machines and algorithms) become more prominent in their companies. In last month’s article, I discussed how shifts in workplace dynamics are forcing companies to transition...

PwC’s Annual Corporate Directors Survey, set to release on October 8th, reveals a conundrum of collegiality in an increasingly distrustful environment. In a survey of more than 800 U.S. board directors, 43 percent revealed they have difficulty voicing a dissenting view in the boardroom. With corporate boards being tasked with ensuring the company is on the right track, this concern...

The SEC has squarely placed the onus on corporate board members to take on greater cybersecurity oversight of the companies they serve. NIC Inc.’s Jayne Friedland Holland discusses board members’ roles now. Following the heels of record-breaking cyber breaches in 2017, sensitive information found its way into cybercriminals’ hands in dozens of major attacks in 2018. Identity theft protection company...