Day 1
Introduction, implementation, legislation
Some basic principles; the level playing field
· What is the role of the board? What is corporate governance?
· The international perspective - divergence or convergence?
· US Sarbanes Oxley - act style legislation vs. UK-style voluntary code
Corporate governance the business case
· The rewards: a study of share performance metrics
· Corporate performance and boardroom practices - the link
· Benefits to the economy: The corruption premium and the cost of accessing global capital
· Foreign direct investment; countering the vulnerability of short term capital flows
· Assessing governance in others
Good corporate governance and emerging markets
· Why governance is essential in emerging markets
· Information asymmetries and inequalities
· The patterns of ownership in emerging markets; The protection of minority investors
· Convergence to the OECD norms?
Industry specifics: banks; government companies
· Governance in banks - the agency problem; opaqueness, rogue traders
· The role of the bank in improving the governance of the corporate sector
· How poor governance can cause systemic financial crises
Case study: recent financial sector governance failures
· State owned enterprises and corporations: governance issues
Legal and regulatory frameworks for governance
· Then legal responsibilities of directors
· Listing requirements: how capital markets impose corporate governance requirements:
· Corporate governance codes; recent regulatory trends in corporate governance
· How to develop a corporate governance code for your company
· Governance disclosures: governance as a competitive edges
Case study: Grupo Bancolombia S.A.
Ethics, corporate social responsibility
Ethics and culture: the boards responsibility
· Corporate structures for ethics
· Developing an Ethics Code
· The role of the whistle blower.; setting up internal hot-lines
· The place and principles of corporate social responsibility
Case studies: Australian Wheat Board and Iraq; Siemens A.G.
Day 2
Boards, directors and board committees
The Board key principles and practicalities
· Principles of independence and leadership
· Building the right working relationship between Board and management
· The Boards responsibilities for:
Management oversight
Protection of stakeholders rights
Disclosure and transparency
The companys strategy
Case study: where was the board? Enron and other catastrophic board failure.
The Boards composition and processes
· Independent and non-executive directors
· Are independent directors the solution?
· New powers for non-executive directors, stiffer penalties for negligence
· Rule of engagement: defining the non-executive director
· How two-tier boards imbed independence sometimes at a cost
· Board meetings basics; information for directors
Case study: Hewlett Packard: the worst board in the history of business
Board committees the Audit Committee
· What are committees for? - rules and principles for committees.
· The role of the Audit Committee
· Audit Committee membership and expertise requirements; financial literacy requirements; processes and procedures
· Resources for Audit Committee members
· Relationships with internal and external auditors
· Managing changes in membership
· Structuring internal audit oversight, reviewing internal controls
Case study: Société Générale - a failure of culture and internal controls
The Board nominations and compensation
· Board nominations: whom to appoint to the board? Sourcing directors
· Creating effective Board appraisals and assessments
· How the board should manage succession planning
· Setting pay and compensation in the company: basic principles
· Pay for performance for board members?
Case study: pay for non-performance NYSE ($188 million); Disney ($100 million).
· Share ownership by directors an alignment, or a conflict of interests?
· Executive pay: structuring the incentive
· How much should non-executive directors be paid?
· Recent controversies, and best practice developments in compensation
· Remuneration disclosure
DAY 3
Personalities on the board
· The role and duties of chairman of the board
· Leading the company/leading the board chairman styles
A study in contrasts: BPs where was the chairman? vs. Singapore Airlines
· Experience of the business? needed for the chairman?
· The importance and developing role of the board secretary
· The secretary a Corporate Governance professional
· Resources for the board secretary
· Board evaluations: questionnaire or interview?
Case study: developing effective board assessment procedures - an exercise in tact.
· Maintaining directors effectiveness structuring the job
· Director training
Governance and risk responsibilities of directors and management
· The oversight of risk; assigning responsibility in management
· The role of Chief Risk Officer; reporting line practices
· Modern systematic approaches to risk management, and tools for the Board
· Enterprise Risk Management for companies: the new discipline
· Extreme event management
Case study: China Aviation Oil and the oversight of risk
The board and executive management
The practicalities of the correct relationship
· Chairman and chief executive splitting the roles: the arguments for and against
· The CEO and the chairman optimising relationships.
Case study: Olympus, the Chairman, the (foreign) CEO, and the ¥50 trillion Cayman Islands advisory fee
· Defining the CEO: requirements for successful company leadership
· Hiring the CEO
· Evaluating CEO performance; communicating the evaluation
· Management committees, and the boards oversight of the management structure
Day 4
Governance in controlled companies
· Governance for family businesses
· Succession planning in family businesses; the role of the independent director
· How Boards can help family companies move towards an IPO / listing
· Transcending borders: the specific challenges of corporate governance for multinationals
· Ensuring effective governance in overseas subsidiaries: best practices
The board and strategy
· The boards role in formulating and reviewing strategy
· Partnering with management in the process who does what?
Case study: HIH Insurance and the missing strategy; Australias largest corporate failure.
· Mission and vision the role of the board
· Changing the strategy; crisis management what the board needs to do
· How mergers and acquisitions can destroy value: how the board can avoid the pitfalls
Shareholders, stakeholders, and the board
· Disclosure and financial reporting best practices
· Earnings management: when and when not
· Investor relations: the practicalities for the board
· Communicating governance inside and outside the company
· Shareholders and their rights
· Shareholder stewardship; communications between board and shareholders
· Growing shareholder activism the international perspective
· Managing the annual shareholders meeting
Case study: Prudential and AIA time for a review of strategy and engagement with shareholders.
Improving corporate governance in your company
· A practical guide to developing corporate governance best practices in your company:
· Assigning responsibility for corporate governance within the company
· Integrating good corporate governance in your company
· What the board needs to do
What management needs to do