Zander has joined the board of a privately owned company that is growing rapidly and has plans to list within the next year or two. He is excited by the prospect of the IPO and determined to do a good job as a director, even though he has no prior board experience. He is finding …
Starting a Business/
Business Laws & Ethics
Will Beneficial Ownership Registers Become Global?
Will beneficial ownership registers spread around the World? Governments have become more and more focused on the risks posed by opaque and confidential corporate structures. In particular the ability of a certain type of person to use such structures to hide the true ownership and origin of funds, thereby facilitating tax evasion and money laundering. …
Can there ever be too much transparency? Transparency has been recognized as a vital attribute for organizational health and performance. Organizations that demonstrate transparency give voice for employee concerns. Leaders that are willing to be vulnerable in sharing even bad news create environments where employees can admit mistakes before crises erupt. So when is too …
Xevach is a director on the board of a government trading enterprise. He also chairs the governance committee. The company has a significant geographic monopoly and owns and operates a vital piece of infrastructure in the industry. One of Xevach’s colleagues on the board, Yolanda, is a former director of a larger, competing, government trading …
Directors Dilemma: Unreported Knowledge Winsome is a director of a large listed company. She has a strong track record in M&A advisory work and is now embarking on a non-executive career. She is finding the ‘hands off’ aspects of the role quite challenging as she is instinctively and by training a detail-focused manager. She has …
Victor is a director on a medium sized listed company board. The Chairman has been ill for several months and is not going to get better. He has announced that he wishes to retire. The Managing Director is keen that one of the directors, who had a strong track record as an executive within the …
Association Boards: Integrity with Conflicts of Interest Ursula is a director of an industry association. Although they use terms such as ‘Councillor’ and ‘council’ it is constituted as a board and the members have the same duties and responsibilities as directors under the Corporations Act. All directors are nominated by companies within the industry and …
Owner Director Dilemmas: Navigating Tough Choices Sam is an experienced manager and has worked for over twenty years in his industry. He has also sat on two not for profit boards and enjoys the governance role. Now he has an opportunity to buy an equity stake in a small business that has a product and …
