Attended a very interesting conference a couple of weeks ago, hosted by Tomorrow’s Company’s Good Governance Forum, of which CIMA is a member.  The theme was Boardrooms and strategic risk – how to avoid ruin and build long-term value.

I am pleased to share with you some new guidance from the Institute of Risk Management (IRM) - Risk appetite and Risk tolerance.  This is one of those topics where it’s easy enough to understand the rationale for knowing what risks you are prepared to take in pursuit of strategic objectives, but putting the idea into practice is another matter altogether.

I have a BPP material for C05-FUndamentals of Ethics, Corporate Governance and Business Law : Study Text, Revision Kit, I-pass CD, Passcards , MCQ (ALLl BRAND NEW) and BPP Course Note (40% of chapters have been highlighted with a pencil and some pages-with a yellow highlighter). The market price is £180 (excl. delivery). My asking price is £120 excl. deliver. I work not far from Green Park Tube Station.

Sen me a message if you are interested.

"Global attention on fighting corruption is intensifying" was one of the conclusions at a CIMA seminar at St Paul's cathedral held earlier in April.  The introduction of the UK Bribery Act is part of this "crest of a wave" and the growth of anti-corruption initiatives and focus on ethical business are evident everywhere.  "Call to end corporate corruption" read the headlines in the Malaysian press the day I was presenting

The purpose of the Green Paper is to assess the effectiveness of the current corporate governance framework for European companies in the light of the financial crisis.

It considers three subjects:

- board of directors, including diversity, availability and time commitment, board evaluation, remuneration and risk governance

- shareholder engagement, including the short-termism of capital markets and the protection of minority shareholders

Over the last year, I've been representing CIMA on Tomorrow's Good Governance Forum.  This was formed in March 2010 by Tomorrow's Company in response to questions raised about the effectiveness of corporate governance.  The Forum brings together a number of key companies such as Marks and Spencer, HSBC, organisations and individuals to explore what good governance means and to make practical recommendations to company boards and policy makers.

I've been thinking a lot about the subject of time recently.  It all started with the UK Secretary of State for Business, Vince Cable who launched a review into economic short-termism in autumn last year.  A long-term focus for corporate Britain called for evidence about market short-termism and as I write, the UK Business Department is  ploughing through all the responses with a view to coming up with some firm proposals to address what it feels is a serious weakness of

Hello,
 
I am currently writing a dissertation at an undergraduate level. I have written a research proposal on Corporate Governance with respect to institutional investors and the effectiveness of their activism in the UK but am having some trouble finding a clear purpose in which I aim to achieve.

Hi

I have C05 study materials for sale. The set consists of:

- passcards (some text highlighted)

- revision kit (some text highlighted and written on pencil)

- CD (used once, but as good as new)

I studied the syllabus by reading through the passcards and then attempted questions in the revision kit, as textbook was too thick to read through. Then attempted the mock exam on the CD and passed with 80%. I sat the exam last year (eg 2009).

It's been fascinating to hear the views of a couple of captains of industry over recent weeks especially as they relate to the importance of good reporting and the role of the chief financial officer in supporting governance.

Last week, I found myself on the No5 bus to 'Nations' in the thick of the Tuesday morning Geneva commute.  I was attending a conference on the role of the accountancy profession organised by UNCTAD and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

Interesting times at HSBC on the governance front with the proposed elevation of the current Finance Director and Fellow of CIMA, Douglas Flint to the job of Chairman.  The importance of the role in shaping the future direction of the banking industry cannot be underestimated and it is a testament to Mr Flint's personal standing combined with his knowledge and experience of the industry that the Board of HSBC unanimously considered him the best person for the job.  I'm sure that all CIMA members, students and staff would want to join me in wishing him well. 

Another milestone will be passed this week on the epic journey of corporate governance when the UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) issues its revised corporate governance code for UK listed companies.  This follows a year-long review and reflects governance thinking in the light of the global financial crisis.  For another example of a post-crisis code, take a look at the King III report from South Africa which I looked at in a previous post.

Hi, I was thinking of this and would like your thoughts on this:

Can Non Executive Directors get remuneration in the form of shares? I have read somewhere that they can but would like to find out what CIMA has to say about this. I guess it is quite normal for executive directors to partake in a share scheme but is this extended to the Non Executives?

Thanks

Whatever your views on the Copenhagen Climate Change conference, it certainly hasn't produced a clear political direction on how to respond to global warming whether that's man-made, part of the natural planetary cycle, or simply a marketing strategy to fund Al Gore's next election campaign. So does that mean it's up to us now?

The UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has now issued its consultation paper on revisions to the UK Combined Code on corporate governance.  And the first point to note is that the 'Combined Code' name is to be dropped to be replaced by the more sensible 'UK Corporate Governance Code'.

What is the relevance of a city code to financial markets, and how can it combat money laundering?

Next week will see the publication of the final report of the Walker Review of corporate governance in the banking industry in the UK in the light of the financial crisis - the global nature of both the industry and the crisis it managed to create is such that the conclusions will be studied closely across the world.