Integrity

Articles by our readers about integrity. Do you want to contribute to this category too? Please subscribe to be an author.

Tangible benefits of a corporate governance framwork

August 4, 2019 By Terry Booysen Leave a Comment

Article by Jene’ Palmer and edited by Terry Booysen

Forward thinking organisations have realised that corporate governance does not merely fall into the portfolio of the Company Secretary. Indeed, the draft King IV Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2016 (‘King IV’), describes corporate governance as “the exercise of ethical and effective leadership by the governing body” of an organisation. Why then is corporate governance still viewed by many organisations as a process which increases bureaucracy and drives a ‘tick box’ exercise?
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SAFEGUARDING THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF AN ORGANISATION: A CRITICAL GOVERNANCE MATTER!

August 4, 2019 By CorGovInstitute Leave a Comment

By Terrance M. Booysen and peer reviewed by At van Rooy (KISCH IP: Director and Patent Attorney)

When boards of directors gather to discuss the top risks of an organisation, it may entail matters such as structurally high unemployment, labour unrest, exchange rate volatility, political uncertainty, unmanageable fraud and corruption, threats of new market entrants or even product stagnation. Whilst there are indeed many more topical risks that may be relevant to the nature of the organisation’s business and immediate environment, it is not common for a board to include the threat of their innovation and intellectual property (‘IP’) being marginalised or lost. Bearing in mind the critical importance of protecting the organisation’s IP, which is the organisation’s raison d’etre, it’s quite likely this vital business component has fallen within the board’s blind spot.
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Sustainable Development Goals: Can South Africa do it?

August 3, 2019 By Terry Booysen Leave a Comment

The impacts of the widely broadcasted activities that South African citizens witnessed regarding the ‘Nenegate blunder’ will be felt hardest amongst the poor, and for many years to come. And this is with no thanks to President Jacob Zuma. President Zuma singularly decided to remove Minister Nene as South Africa’s Finance Minister in December 2015 — seemingly with no proper reason — and following this move, half a trillion Rand was wiped off the value of South African stocks and bonds in just two days.
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The shareholder spring returns

August 3, 2019 By Nick Dawson Leave a Comment

Compensation issues are again dominating annual meeting season. Have shareholders begun to assert their rights more aggressively, or have companies learned nothing from years of dialogue?

An explosive start to this year’s proxy season has many observers calling 2016 the second Shareholder Spring. Significant opposition to compensation at companies such as BP, Citigroup, Anglo American and Smith & Nephew has caused embarrassment and surprise, while more investors seem willing not only to oppose management in key votes, but to engage in very public debates on the subject.
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Spotlight on boards – An interview with James McRitchie, publisher of CorpGov.net and Shareholder Advocate

August 2, 2019 By Nick Dawson Leave a Comment

What motivates you to keep such a close eye on the companies you invest in, and indeed, to influence them?

Part of it is that I’d like to make money, and by influencing companies you can help them make more money. Of course, I also want to make society a better place, but it’s like how initially you had the Frederick Taylor school of management that said workers were replaceable parts – gradually companies realized that they were better off if employees brought their brains to work. Hopefully, companies will realize they will perform better if investors bring their brains to work as owners.
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ITIL – Agile IT Governance… What a Concept!

August 1, 2019 By Andrew Kelly Leave a Comment

Since its release in 2011, ITIL V3 has become a mature, flexible and complete IT Governance standard that;

Directly integrates with enterprise governance,
Is flexible and agile for today’s business challenges
Provides executives with a transparent means to monitor and manage the performance of IT investments and risks in real time.

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The ABCCC of Director Selection

July 31, 2019 By Kate Costello Leave a Comment

I had an interesting piece sent to me just recently, an exercise conducted by a research team from the Ivey Business School at Canada’s Western University that delves into the key criteria boards should consider when assessing and appointing anyone to a leadership position, including a director.
Entitled “Leadership on Trial: A Manifesto for Leadership Development”, the comprehensive paper identifies competencies, commitment and character as the three most important measures. It goes on to argue that of the three Cs, character is both the most important and most difficult to assess.
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Boards and People Process

July 31, 2019 By Sergio Guzman Leave a Comment

Many of the failures that have surprised markets concerning boards of directors being considered professionally solid and well reputed, may be explained, I believe, by the superlative dimension given to the materials and information processes, neglecting the primary gear by excellence: the process of people.
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GETTING BOARD APPOINTMENTS WRONG WITH DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES FOR THE ORGANISATION

July 31, 2019 By CorGovInstitute Leave a Comment

By Terrance M. Booysen and peer reviewed by Jene’ Palmer CA(SA) (CGF Lead Independent Consultant)

The recent resignations of the CEOs of Eskom and South African Airways have again focussed the spotlight on board performance and effectiveness. Inevitably, the critical question arises: why are these CEOs really leaving?
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Corporate Reputation: It certainly matters

July 30, 2019 By Terry Booysen Leave a Comment

By Terrance M. Booysen and reviewed by Ian Jacobsberg (Partner: Hogan Lovells)

One hardly needs any reminding of the global economic crash and its devastating effects the world experienced in September 2008. Many businesses were brought to their knees, and countless individuals were financially ruined as a result of what could only be described as reckless trading, backed by the greed of a select group of business executives in the financial services market. And just eight years later the devastation lingers on, and a number of country leaders still cite the global crash as the fundamental reason for their economic woes and the plight of their impoverished citizens.
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