In an important governance development on August 3, the influential Business Roundtable (BRT) released a 2016 edition of its well-known "Governance Principles" monograph. This new release is a comprehensive revision of the 2012 edition of the Principles, and should attract close attention from corporate directors and their advisors.
The 2016 edition of the BRT Principles offers a comprehensive treatment of key principles of governance, and also fundamental governance issues such as board responsibilities, roles of key corporate actors, committee responsibilities and other, elemental governance concerns historically treated by the organization. These include board composition, director responsibilities, shareholder rights, public reporting, board leadership, management succession planning and compensation of management.
What may be particularly persuasive to health system leaders is that the Business Roundtable is an association of business executives, and that the Governance Principles reflect those issues and trends its CEO members perceive as influencing governance today.
The board should consider the new BRT Principles together with the similarly new "Commonsense Principles of Corporate Governance" released on July 25 by the Buffett/Dimon consortium of executives.
On its own, the release of either of these two commentaries would have been a significant event, and worthy of governance committee attention. For two sets of substantial commentaries to be released in close proximity to one another is particularly consequential—and a primary reason for the general counsel to bring them to the governance committee's attention.
Business Roundtable Governance Guidelines
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