Hector Sants, the chief executive of the UK Financial Services Authority has given a speech today (24 April 2012) highlighting the importance of good corporate governance and effective boards in regulating financial firms. Although this is a view widely held, this emphasise from the main UK regulator is telling. It is also one of his …
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. …
Kate is a director on the board of a large national not-for-profit company. The board is comprised of well-intentioned and conscientious professionals who bring diverse viewpoints and bountiful energy to their board discussions. None of them are qualified in governance or have experience on other boards but all take their responsibilities seriously and strive to …
SAIC, a major government technology contractor, just agreed to pay the City of New York $500 million to settle charges of fraud in the development of an employee timekeeping system. Yes, a couple of employees were the real bad apples, engaging in fraud, kickbacks, and money laundering. But SAIC’s real crime, the actions that cost …
In their new book, Repeatability, Bain & Co partners Chris Zook and James Allen show that a small percentage of companies sustained profitability over long periods do so because they are able to control growing complexity which slows them down. These leading companies have repeatable models that allow the company to react to new situations …
One of the enduring adages of corporate governance is that it is a philosophy and not a tick box exercise. Company secretaries and corporate governance experts can often be heard stating this line and, like many clichés, it is often repeated because it’s true. A company can fulfil all the requirements of its relevant code(s) …
James is a recently-appointed director on the board of a family business. He is the nephew of the founder and has worked in the business for several years since completing his MBA. He is concerned because the board meetings are all taken up with historical reports and endless discussions of ‘who did what’ and how …
Political scientist James Q. Wilson recently passed away at the age of 80. Wilson and co-author George L. Kelling argued in a landmark 1982 article in The Atlantic that communities must address minor crimes and their effects, such as broken windows, to prevent larger problems from developing. They argued the crime of vandalism wasn’t as …
