Today’s announcement regarding the directorate changes at Independent News & Media largely focuses on the retirement of Sir Anthony O’Reilly, after 36 years leading the Company. His son, Gavin, will take over the reigns as his father’s distinguished career at the newspaper group comes to a close. However, the accompanying director changes highlight a change […]
Read MoreFiat has extended the deadline for the submission of slates of candidates for its Board of Directors and Board of Statutory Auditors, to be elected at the AGM on 27 March. With reference to the forthcoming General Meeting of Shareholders, the Company hereby reports that, according to law and the By-laws, candidate lists for election […]
Read MoreThe UK’s audit watchdog, the Auditing Practices Board (APB) has issued its latest consultation paper with a view to updating its ethical guidelines on the vexed issue issue of auditor consultancy services. In the UK regulatory construct, the audit is produced for the benefit of shareholders and consulting for the benefit of management. Investors have long […]
Read MoreThe European Commision has commissioned a €350,000 research study to assess the effectiveness of monitoring and enforcement mechanisms concerning Member States’ corporate governance codes. Four researcb partners have been selected to underake the review: BUSINESSEUROPE (the Confederation of European Business); RiskMetrics Group; ecoDa (the European Confederation of Directors’ Associations) and Landwell & Associés, a European law firm. According to […]
Read MoreFiat has released its notice of AGM, with the first call due to be on 26 March and the meeting expected to be held on the second call on Friday 27 March. With the board structure following the traditional Italian model, the AGM will include the election of both the Board of Directors and the […]
Read MoreUNPRI’s Board has this week issued an eight point action plan calling for more investment in active ownership and oversight. In an open admission that investors have had a role to play in current difficulties, Donald MacDonald, Chair of the PRI Initiative and a Trustee of the BT Pension Scheme called for PRI signatories to “lead […]
Read MoreThe financial crisis has revealed severe shortcomings in corporate governance. When most needed, they often failed to provide the checks and balances that companies need in order to cultivate sound business practices. That’s the conclusion from the OECD’s latest report: Corporate Governance Lessons from the Financial Crisis. On March 18th 2009 the OECD will meet in […]
Read MoreU.S. judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, has ruled that two lawsuits brought by Parmalat Finanziaria SpA bond and share holders and Parmalat SpA CEO Enrico Bondi, can proceed against auditing firm Grant Thornton International in relation to the collapse of Parmalat Finanziaria in 2003. Speaking in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New […]
Read MoreThe Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance at the Yale School of Management has made a series of proposals to boost transparency among institutional investors and the proxy voting services that advise them. In addition to investor transparency about policy, engagement; voting resources and tactics, the Center is also proposing a code of professional […]
Read MoreDutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos today hit out at shareholders for doing ‘virtually nothing’ to prevent the current financial crisis. Speaking to the International Corporate Governance conference in Amsterdam, Bos used the platform as an opportunity to make a forthright attack on the role of shareholders in the current financial crisis: “The financial crisis is […]
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