Governance Archives - CGI - Corporate Governance Institute

WORKPLACE STRESS: A REAL ORGANISATIONAL RISK

August 20, 2019 By Terry Booysen Leave a Comment

Article by Dr Dicky Els and Terrance M. Booysen

It is imperative that the impact of work-related stress and the negative impact of distress be incorporated into the organisation’s enterprise-wide risk management framework. A Bloomberg study conducted in 2013 revealed that South Africa is the second-most ‘stressed’ country out of a study of 74 countries. This is hardly surprising given the high prevalence of political instability, economic uncertainty, high unemployment and growing crime rates in South Africa. The recent cabinet reshuffle and the decision of Standard & Poor’s (S&P), including Fitch rating agencies to downgrade the country’s credit rating below investment grade to BB+ further exacerbates the political and economic uncertainty in South Africa.
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POLYGRAPH TESTING: IS IT A LEGITIMATE MEANS TO CURTAIL CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE WORKPLACE?

August 20, 2019 By Terry Booysen Leave a Comment

By Terrance M. Booysen and reviewed by Osborne Molatudi (Partner: Hogan Lovells)

On a worldwide basis, criminal activity in the workplace — detected or undetected — is at an all-time high. Fraud, corruption and other forms of economic crimes are rife, and perceptions of increasing illicit behaviour are backed by reputable subject matter experts and research agencies, with alarming statistics. Research conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) show that workplace fraud has steadily increased between 2012 and 2016. In 2012, case studies showed that the median loss caused by workplace related occupational fraud was US$140,000. But by 2016, figures showed that the median loss caused by such cases had increased to US$150,000.
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Is Your Business Performance Lack Luster? Then Start at the Top

August 19, 2019 By Sigrid Valk-Feeney Leave a Comment

In many businesses where performance does not reach the desired targets you will have finger pointing. It is a natural reaction at all levels, there is always another person, department or group that is the reason why performance targets are not achieved. In my experience, when business performance is lacking the first place I start is at the top, the Board of Directors.
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ANTI-HATE SPEECH BILL INTRODUCES NEW BUSINESS RISKS

August 18, 2019 By Terry Booysen Leave a Comment

By Robert Davies (CGF: Lead Independent Consultant) and reviewed by Terrance M. Booysen

Saying or doing something racist, or performing various deeds which falls within a long list of things the Bill deems to be hate speech — or a hate crime — could see you ending up with a criminal record. It could also severely jeopardise your business, even if you had nothing to do with the original incident.
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Deber de responder y su significado

August 15, 2019 By Pablo Zavaleta Leave a Comment

La importancia del lenguaje en la lucha contra la corrupción

Se le atribuye a Confucio la siguiente frase: Si el lenguaje no es el correcto, entonces lo que se dice no es lo que se quiere. Si lo que se dice no es lo que se quiere, entonces lo que debe de hacerse no se hace.

“…lo que existe y no se puede contar
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Some Thoughts on Corporate Governance

August 14, 2019 By Robert Purse Leave a Comment

It is my firm belief that every employee, in an organisation, has a part to play in ensuring effective corporate governance. I have quite deliberately introduced the qualifier ‘good’ into this article. Effective corporate governance does not, in and of itself, mean good corporate governance; good may well be implicit, but I have decided to make it explicit and use the ‘shorthand’ Good Governance. The word ‘corporate’ can also be somewhat misleading and some people may, mistakenly, conclude that corporate governance is a matter for large institutions, or organisations; good governance applies to all institutions and organisations. In a recent (June 2015) survey on Corporate Governance, over 40% of respondents were from SME’s.

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RESILIENCE: A POSITIVE DEVIATION AMID DIFFICULTY

August 14, 2019 By Terry Booysen Leave a Comment

Article by Dr Dicky Els and Terrance M. Booysen

With the accelerated pace of global development, fuelled by South Africa’s socio-economic and political uncertainty, there are obvious knock-on business implications that increase business risks, not least of which includes dampening the mood for local investment. It is therefore not surprising to see many organisations downsizing, restructuring and even being forced to shrink their trading operations in the face of declining revenue and higher cost pressures. Since the 2007-2008 global financial market crisis, organisations are operating in turbulent markets and have to constantly adapt to increasing business uncertainty and changing circumstances. Whilst there may be numerous economic challenges the organisation’s leadership must deal with in order to remain a sustainable and profitable concern, they also have to be acutely aware of the manner in which these severe economic stressors impacts their workforce.
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IMPROPERLY APPOINTED BOARDS SPELL DISASTER FOR ORGANISATIONS

August 12, 2019 By Terry Booysen Leave a Comment

By Terrance M. Booysen and reviewed by Joanne Matisonn (Head of Corporate Governance: TMF Corporate Services).

It has been said that it is very difficult to accurately describe what exactly defines a good board of directors, and trying to find a scientific formulae for a so-called ‘perfect’ board is improbable. At the inception of the first round of appointing directors on the board, the shareholders will usually have a very good idea of the ideal group of directors which they believe will be best suited and qualified to start and direct the business. At this early stage of the organisation’s existence, the board will require unique people with the same vision as its founding shareholders, but have a diversity of thought and outlook to enrich the strategic process. As with most new business ventures, there’s usually a lot of risk — even levels of uncertainty regarding business success — and it is therefore critical that the board ensure they have the correct people who are capable of actually doing the work cut out for them. Indeed, the board must be capable of aligning the vision with a strategic path, whilst at the same time being acutely aware of the risks associated with the many business failures that are linked with start-up organisations.
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LIFESTYLE AUDITS CURB ERRANT BEHAVIOUR

August 11, 2019 By Terry Booysen Leave a Comment

By Terrance M. Booysen and reviewed by Megan Grindell (Director: Carter DGF Risk Management)

In today’s heightened times of public scrutiny and calls for ethical leaders, it’s not surprising that many concerned citizens have become far more demanding for good governance and transparency. Social media has been a major contributor to this call, such that a person’s privacy — including matters such as their social pleasures and behaviour — are broadcasted in seconds to almost any corner of the world. For example, if a work colleague is an avid user of Facebook or Twitter, it’s not too difficult finding out what that person’s likes and dislikes are, what gyms or sport clubs they attend and how often, right down to discovering their dream car or accommodation.
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CYBER CRIME: RANSOMWARE LURKS DANGEROUSLY WITHIN THE INTERNET

August 10, 2019 By Terry Booysen Leave a Comment

Article by Terrance M. Booysen and peer reviewed by Craig Rosewarne (CEO: Wolfpack Information Risk (Pty) Ltd)

It was estimated by ISACA — previously known as the Information Systems Audit and Control Association® — that there could be as much as 5.4 billion internet-based connected devices by the year 2020. And these estimates may even exceed their original projections as technology advances with its prolific and wide-spread adoption. Similarly, Cisco IBSG also predict billions of devices within the business-to-business use of the Internet of Things (IoT) where personal computers, smart phones and home devices, tablets, electronic wearables, medical devices, clinical systems, gaming systems and similar instruments will become more vulnerable to the security risks that lurk within the internet.
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