A well-attended IoD workshop was this month held at the MFSA. Keynote speakers were Dr. Roger Barker, Director of Corporate Governance at the IoD in the UK and Dr. Louis de Gabriele from Camilleri Preziosi Advocates.
Dr. Barker explained that lack of expertise among directors is a perennial problem. Most directors of large companies struggle to properly understand the business.
Today's companies are engaged in wide-ranging operations, do business in far-flung locations with global partners, and operate within complex political and economic environments.
Dr. Barker outlined ten emerging and important trends on EU Corporate Governance and how these would impact on all EU nations including Malta. He singled out the main issues in European Corporate Governance across five key areas: Board structures, co-determination, differences in legal duties, ownership structures and cultural differences, particularly in business norms and practices. He also highlighted the three most important current issues in EU Corporate Governance; cyber-security, governance in sport and charity, and, preventing scandals through enlightened governance within the existing governance frameworks.
Dr. Louis de Gabriele presentation on 'The Maltese Dimension' showed that issues of corporate governance are as much cultural in nature as they are functional. Dr Gabriele explained on the role of corporate governance in smaller land major local firms moving to the local listed companies and the current Code. He also covered features of Maltese company law dealing with directors' duties and to the structure of the economy and the impacts which Government and the main retail banks have on governance issues within local firms.
Closing the Workshop, IoD's Chairman James Satariano said that many stakeholders have forgotten the competitiveness' aim of Corporate Governance. He said, "governance is not only about compliance, it's about acting with honesty and integrity in our business lives. Too much regulation runs the risk of a check-the-box exercise, which can be dangerous. It is important to draw conclusions from past regulation, to challenge whether they were useful in practice, whether regulations are compatible with our international environment and if they reinforce our competitiveness.
MFSA Newsletter - December 2015
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
