For many executives, the topic of internal control conjures up images of details deep in the corporate infrastructure best left to staff with green eyeshades and pocket protectors (if such gear actually still exists). Unfortunately, misunderstandings persist regarding what internal control is all about and its relevance to achieving critical business objectives. We focus here […]
Richard M. Steinberg
Posted inFrom the Archive
Using the New COSO Risk-Management Guidance
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations recently issued guidance designed to assist companies with implementing an enterprise risk management process. Let’s take a closer look at the two reports to get a sense of what they’re about and the value they bring. The first report, “Embracing Enterprise Risk Management: Practice Approaches for Getting Started,” issued in […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Governance Challenges of Performance Measurement
Boards have few responsibilities as important, or as difficult, as ensuring that relevant measures are in place to assess corporate performance. Measures are critical to such governance responsibilities as determining the effectiveness of established corporate strategy and tracking its implementation, and appropriately motivating and compensating the chief executive and management team. Against a backdrop of […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
What 2011 Holds for Governance, Risk, and Compliance
As one year ends and another begins, it’s always a good time to take a look forward, as is the long-standing tradition of this column. Some years I’ve put forth a wish list, but this year I’d like to go out on a limb and make some predictions about what the future holds. So, with […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Where Were the Banks’ Internal Controls?
After suffering through one of the worst crises in financial history, the big banks that survived the collapse in 2008 now find themselves dealing with another crisis: the foreclosure fiasco. First, banks lost billions on bad home mortgages and now they’re finding they often don’t have proper paperwork showing ownership of the properties on which […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Shareholders, Be Careful What You Wish For
There’s no doubt shareholders have made great strides in gaining more information and power. They’ve won more disclosure on a series of points, including the experience and skills of director candidates, what the board does to oversee risk management, the role of compensation consultants, and the structure of board leadership, just to name a few. […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Did Mark Hurd Deserve to Be Fired From HP? Yes
As Compliance Week readers now know, Mark Hurd, the hard-charging chief of Hewlett-Packard—who through acquisitions, layoffs, and cost cutting raised the company’s fortunes—was recently fired. The surrounding circumstances are the stuff of tabloids, including allegations of sexual harassment by a female consultant. We may never know exactly what transpired, and we probably don’t need to. […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Common Questions About GRC, and Some Answers
Earlier this summer I participated on a panel at the Institute of Internal Auditors international conference, held this year in Atlanta. The subject of the panel was governance, risk, and compliance, covering a range of matters raised by the moderator and enthusiastic participants. Compliance Week readers often have similar issues on their minds, so I’d […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
How Did BP’s Risk Management Lead to Failure?
We all know the damage caused so far by the explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig in April: 11 workers killed, economic ruin across the Gulf Coast states, environmental ruin along the Gulf Coast itself. And efforts to stop the continuing undersea oil spill keep falling far short of the solution that’s desperately […]
Posted inInternal Controls
When to Consider Splitting CEO, Chairman Roles
The question of whether to combine the roles of board chairman and CEO or to separate them generates robust debate, with visceral feelings and often-strained relationships. Many institutional investors and leading governance experts, and indeed many sitting directors, argue in favor of splitting the jobs; many CEOs holding the chairman title insist their authority and […]
