Corporate Board articles from March 2005

Corporate Board archives from March 2005

The evolution of private equity ownership.
March 1, 2005... As boards, executive's and investors struggle to find the most effective blueprint for corporate governance, Henry R. Kravis, founding partner in private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., suggests a model--the private equity industry....

What makes a great board chair?
March 1, 2005... As the role of a separate board chairman becomes more accepted in the United States, boards are working to make this new role effective. In the United Kingdom, the separate chair has been a boardroom fixture for decades. The author has surveyed...

Internal controls: who is doing what?
March 1, 2005... This spring is the first in which U.S. corporations face the full brunt of Sarbanes-Oxley reforms, specifically the new SEC Section 404 rules on verifying internal controls. Have companies fully complied with this new control regimen? How much...

Internal controls: best practice blueprints.
March 1, 2005... As noted in the previous article, many corporations are still struggling to find practical, economical ways to meet their SEC Section 404 reporting requirements for internal controls. However, as we learn here, COSO has laid out an effective...

How good is your board's information?
March 1, 2005... In our corporate structure, information works its way up from the bottom of the pyramid all the way to the board at the top. Yet this long route is full of pitfalls. Is the data and information your board needs complete, uncensored. accurate...

Less that a third of audit committees are implementing best practices.(Audit)
March 1, 2005... As audit committees struggle implementing the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, less than one-third implement a majority of practices that lead to higher ratings of the financial audit process, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004...

A fraud prevention guide issued for audit committees.(Audit)
March 1, 2005... As part of its ongoing fraud-prevention program, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants issued guidance to help U.S. audit committees understand one of the most significant of fraud risks: management override of internal...

FASB 123(R) rules on stock options will prove challenging.(Compensation & Recruitment)
March 1, 2005... Correctly implementing the newest accounting rules would be much easier with a crystal ball, says consulting firm Longnecker & Associates, since predicting future stock value involves a great deal of guesswork. Also, with several approved...

WorldCom, Enron settlements require directors to rethink their liability protections.(Liability & Litigation)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... After two multi-million dollar personal settlements by former board directors of failed companies hit the front pages in January, directors have every reason to be nervous. Previously, outside directors rarely, if ever, contributed personally...

Poor internal controls do not trigger more class action suits.(Liability & Litigation)
March 1, 2005... Deloitte & Touche LLP studied nearly 300 public companies reporting deficiencies of internal control disclosures and found little evidence of increased securities class actions. "In undertaking this analysis, we frankly expected to see a...

Ten years ago in The Corporate Board.(Retrospectives)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... On the whole the corporate governance system in our democracy is working quite well. Media attention invariably focuses on the problem situations. Regrettably, new laws and policies are driven by the exceptional problem cases rather than by the...

Five years ago in The Corporate Board.(Retrospectives)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The next time shareholders are ready to applaud a board's dumping of a laggard CEO, they might also reexamine the board's initial role in choosing the leader. Ultimately, boards must take responsibility at both ends of the process to avoid...

Books received.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... You're In Charge--Now What? By Thomas J. Neff and James M. Citrin. Crown Business. $25. Two of the leaders at global headhunter SpencerStuart offer an insightful "how to" for new chief executives. The chapter on dealing with your board is...

Articles & speeches.(Spoken & Written)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... Trust enables you to leverage yourself, to delegate responsibility to people who can make you more effective or carry out your ideas. For example, when I ask my assistant to place an important call, I assume that it will get done--and quickly....

Recent board elections.(Directors' Register)
March 1, 2005... Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has elected to its board Margaret G. McGlynn, president, U.S. human health for Merck & Co., Inc. Ball Corporation has elected to its board George M. Smart, chairman of FirstEnergy Corp. Banta...

John J. Castellani: the Business Roundtable and governance reform.(Conversations)(Interview)
March 1, 2005... When people mention "Corporate America," whether they know it or not, they are referring to the Business Roundtable. Founded in 1972, BR represents the chief executives of the largest U.S. corporations, with a combined workforce of over 10...