The trustees who govern the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) have decided to start reporting to a new committee of global regulators in an effort to make themselves more publicly accountable. The governance and independence of the board has been a hot issue lately, with the standard setter under political pressure to rewrite its reporting […]
Global Glimpses
Posted inEurope
McCreevy Wants Commission to Start Funding IASB
The European Commission would start to give direct funding to the body that produces international accounting standards under proposals announced this week. Currently the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF), which overseas and finances the rule-making International Accounting Standards Board, gets paid by European Union member states, but not by the Commission. However, Europe’s Internal […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Big French Cos. Meet Pay Disclosure Rules
Big French listed companies have responded well to new guidance on executive pay disclosure, according to a new analysis published by the country’s market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). But compliance by smaller companies has been patchy. The French employers’ confederation, MEDEF, and the private companies association, AFEP, published new pay disclosure guidance […]
Posted inAnti-Bribery
Siemens Boosts Compliance Staff to End Scandals
Scandal-hit German electrical and engineering giant Siemens increased the number of compliance staff it employs by 265 percent last year. A briefing disclosed to coincide with the company’s recent annual shareholder meeting revealed that the company had 621 staff working on global compliance in its 2008 financial year, compared to 170 the year before and […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Governance Concerns Cause Investor Revolt at Bellway
Investors in a UK-listed company have voted to reject its policy on executive pay amid concerns that it had breached corporate governance best practice. The “no” vote is the first time that shareholders have rejected a remuneration report since 2003, when investors threw out pay plans at pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. At the annual general meeting […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
India Reviews Governance Post-Satyam Scandal
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has launched a corporate governance task force to report on the implications of the fraud at computer company Satyam. In a brief statement the business lobby group said the initiative would be chaired by Naresh Chandra, India’s former Ambassador to the United States. The task force will review the […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
FSA Set to Get Power to Grant Criminal Immunity
The U.K. government has published draft legislation that would give the Financial Services Authority powers to grant immunity when investigating criminal cases, such as insider dealing. Currently the regulator can only offer plea bargains rather than immunity, and only then in civil cases, not criminal ones. The FSA has been calling for the power to […]
Posted inEurope
FSA Grants Amnesty for Disclosure Rules
U.K. regulator the Financial Services Authority has given company directors a brief amnesty to comply with its disclosure rules on shares used as loan security, after admitting the rules had caused “uncertainty.” In a statement issued to clarify its position, the FSA said a director who wants to use company shares as security has to […]
Posted inEurope
Europe’s Big Banks Slow on Fair-Value Opt-out
Many European Union financial companies—including a majority of the biggest ones – have decided not to apply a relaxed accounting rule that would allow them to shelter assets from a fair value write-down. But those that have used the get-out have not disclosed enough about what they are doing, according to an analysis by regulators. […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Governance Change Makes Rights Issues Easier
Cash-hungry U.K. public companies will be able to raise funds via a rights issue more quickly in the future, following a corporate governance rule change. Influential shareholder group the Association of British Insurers has changed its good governance guidelines on rights issues. Previously, it said companies should call an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to […]