News Update

Month: Feb

• Corporate governance in the UK gets tick of approval

  09/02/2016

  The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued a report that is positive about the state of corporate governance in the UK. Although it notes that strict compliance with the corporate governance code has fallen to 90 per cent of FTSE 350 companies, the Developments in Corporate Governance and Stewardship 2015 report explains that the decline in strict compliance is a result of newly listed companies providing disclosures under the ‘comply or explain’ model as to why they have governance frameworks that differ from the code’s recommendations.

  Read more

• CEO succession

  09/02/2016

  CEO succession is a perennial governance issue, with many boards nominating this as an ever-present concern. One of the boards' main roles is the appointment and, if necessary, removal of the chief executive officer. Commentary underpinning Recommendation 2.1 on the nomination committee in the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations places responsibility for ensuring CEO succession with the committee.

  Read more

• Disclosures of board skills matrix found wanting

  09/02/2016

  Two major proxy advisory firms, GGI Glass Lewis and ISS Governance, changed their voting policies ahead of the 2015 AGM season to indicate that support of director elections or re-elections would take account of the disclosures in response to new Recommendation 2.2 on a board skills matrix in the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s guidelines. GPS Governance has released a report, Post-AGM Season Governance Report: February 2016, assessing disclosures against this new recommendation and found that only 2.5 per cent of companies provided enhanced disclosure, with approximately two-thirds not disclosing a board skills matrix or providing relatively poor disclosure. 

  Read more

• New obligation to report breaches of data security

  09/02/2016

  If the Privacy Amendment (Notification of Serious Data Breaches) Bill 2015 released in December goes through, most private sector entities with a turnover above $3 million and government agencies will be required to notify ‘serious data breaches’ to each affected individual and the Australian Information Commissioner. A ‘serious data breach’ is one that creates ‘a real risk of serious harm’ to the affected individuals — that can include harm to reputation, economic harm and financial harm, and also includes physical, psychological and emotional harm.

  Read more

• Scrutiny on governance in sport

  09/02/2016
  Read more