Chief executives are more important in driving governance change at their companies than either chairmen or directors, a survey by the Australian Institute of Management (AIM) has found. Of those surveyed, 83% said chief executives are highly or very highly involved in championing corporate governance change. Chairmen came in second place with 69%. Furthermore, despite […]
Read MoreCorporate governance among Australian companies appears fit and well, is professionally administered and – despite frequently expressed concerns to the contrary – is not overly costly, a report conducted by the University of Technology Centre for Corporate Governance has found. The report – which surveyed a sample of 67 companies – described the standard of […]
Read MoreThe number of executive directors at the UK’s top companies has been declining for five years in a row, with a report from Deloitte showing the number of such positions has fallen by 20% over this period. The report found almost 360 executive roles at FTSE 350 companies have disappeared in the last five years. […]
Read MoreRyanair has written to Aer Lingus to request an EGM so that shareholders can consider asking the airline’s board and management to maintain four daily flights between Shannon and Heathrow. Aer Lingus is planning to transfer its London flights from Shannon to Belfast. The Irish government holds a 25% stake in Aer Lingus, and Ryanair […]
Read MoreManifest-I presents a summary of recently released academic papers on international corporate governance and corporate social responsibility issues. Hedge fund investor activism and takeovers Robin Greenwood and Michael Schor, Harvard University Hedge fund activism has limited scope to bring about far-reaching effects on corporate governance, this paper has found. The authors examined long-term stock returns […]
Read MoreThe latest review of the FTSE4Good index has seen 24 companies expelled for no longer meeting its corporate responsibility standards. These include Honda and Toyota, which failed to meet human rights criteria, and Alltel and Capital One Financial, did not meet environmental standards. The review also admitted 42 new companies to the Index. These include […]
Read MoreBlack representation in South African business has progressed much further than is generally accepted, with black representation at top management level growing by 55.9% from 2001-2006, a report by union body Solidarity has argued. According to the report – The Truth About Affirmative Action in South Africa – this growth in black representation at top […]
Read MoreWhile women are enjoying faster career progression than their male colleagues, this is not being matched by their remuneration, and there is evidence efforts to redress the pay gap are beginning to stall, a survey by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and Remuneration Economics has found. Women are achieving director roles quicker than men: at […]
Read MoreA coalition of investors, US state officials and environmental groups have filed a petition with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) calling on the regulator to force companies to assess and disclose their financial risks from climate change. The petition cites scientific evidence and regulatory developments it claims prove that the risks and opportunities […]
Read MoreThe UK Shareholders Association (UKSA) has formed a group to represent the interests of ordinary shareholders in Northern Rock amid accusations that the bank failed to make required disclosures to investors about the severe financial difficulties it faced. UKSA believes many shareholders were persuaded to invest in the company in recent months as a result […]
Read More