Richard Sheath

Governance and the credit crunch

‘If the directors cannot see what’s happening in the business and are not getting good information, they won’t know what questions to ask. If the risk-management processes are not organised in a clear and methodical way, then a handful of part-time non-executives don’t stand much chance of overseeing them.’

Dr David Ladipo

Who manages UK plc?

‘There are a lot of people on the operations side of the business with quite wide delegated powers whose behaviour and activities are not being examined at all through the usual reporting cycle.’

Michael Reyner

Plc v private equity

‘It will not necessarily be easy for public boards to implement all these recommendations. In particular, making significant changes to the time expected from non-executives has important implications for board composition, whilst the question of the optimal remuneration structure requires broader debate with key shareholders.’

Paul Dickinson

CDP Report 2008

‘With increased regulation on the horizon, investors are requiring this information to better understand the creditworthiness of companies in their portfolio and how climate change might affect their profitability.’

Melanie Kerr

Complexity in financial reporting

‘If complexity in corporate reports is allowed to increase unchecked, there is a significant risk that they will cease to be useful for their primary purpose – communication with stakeholders.’

Nick Hedley

Governance and leadership

‘As we enter very difficult economic waters, the chief executive will be looking for better people around him in governance roles. The very best chief executives will not only require vision and integrity, but will also need a top notch governance team.’

David Paterson

Pension fund engagement

‘The rise in the participation of pension funds in class actions shows that they have become more effective in monitoring their entitlement to settlements and in holding their agents to account. In the current economic climate we expect the trend of increased shareholder litigation to continue.’

Frank Vogl

Bribery and corruption?

‘The perpetuation of these payments encourages unethical corporate behaviour with enormous current and potential damage to the health of global commerce.’

Robert A G Monks

Sovereign wealth funds

‘The last thing we need is someone coming in, buying big stakes and then not acting as owners.’

David Shammai

Beyond pay for performance

‘The pay as scaled fees perspective opens up the possibility of simplification of top management pay.’

Brendan Barber

Talent not Tokenism

‘The need to unlock the talents of all – to create a truly representative workforce – is even more crucial at a time of economic uncertainty. The issue is not whether business can afford to diversify, but whether it can afford not to.’

Simon Perry

Private equity success

‘Our study counters the continuing myth that cheap debt and cost- cutting are the principal drivers of PE success.’

Charlie McCreevy

Rating agencies

‘There is still more to be done and we, by that I mean all regulators, must make sure that the regulatory environment remains flexible and current to the needs of the global financial sector.’

Peter Butler

Seeking the common purpose

‘I firmly believe that companies with active and involved shareowners are more valuable than those without. I reject the notion that equity investors can get all the protection they need from the processes of law and the requirements of regulators.’

Paul Boyle

Choice in the audit market

‘The FRC believes that this Opinion is an important confirmation that the concept of ‘true and fair’ is a key contributor to the integrity of financial reporting in the UK.’

Yuji Yamamoto

Spotlight on Japan

‘Old practices in Japan must be changed with aggressive force or Japan is going to be left behind the global competition.’

John Griffith-Jones

Auditors: An even better profession?

‘We should be planning now for the next ten years, not congratulating ourselves on how far we have come in the last ten.’

Hans Dalborg

Nordic governance

‘The Corporate Governance Board has learnt from its experience of the first years with a Code in practice. The proposed revised Code is smaller and simpler without relaxing the criteria for good corporate governance.’

Eric Scheurer

Alternative governance

‘As hedge funds become mature, institutions demand the same level of service as they get from traditional fund managers. They require the same kind of reporting, governance and transparency.’

Sir David Tweedie

IAS - Tell us now

‘Once we issue something, tell us what you think, have we got it right or would you rather see something different? Basically we need to tell it as it is and that is going to be the key.’

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