Corporate Board articles from May 2006

Corporate Board archives from May 2006

Why board service is still attractive.
May 1, 2006... Complaints about the liability and time burdens of serving on corporate boards are at an all-time high. Boards and board recruiters face more "no" responses when trying to fill board seats. Yet there are still many good candidates who say...

The SEC's new pay disclosure plan.
May 1, 2006... Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed its biggest executive pay disclosure changes in a decade. A new Compensation Discussion and Analysis will put boards on the spot to provide a strategy for their executive pay...

A new era for corporate fines.
May 1, 2006... When the SEC fines a corporation, it seeks to punish wrongdoing--but it may be repunishing the very shareholders who already suffered most. Early this year, the Commission announced new rules on when it will seek these penalties. While this...

The search for qualified governance consultants.
May 1, 2006... Corporate boards are increasingly expected (and in many cases, required) to hire their own outside consulting advice. Legal counsel, compensation, search and governance improvement are a few of the areas for which boards now tap outside talent...

CEO succession: improving the odds.
May 1, 2006... Demands for CEO performance are increasing (while CEO tenure is dropping). Boards thus face more frequent and more critical decisions on chief executive succession planning. Unfortunately, many boards still allow CEO succession to be handled...

Diverse directors are in high demand, but supply is low.
May 1, 2006... Spencer Stuart reports research showing that America's largest corporations, striving to increase representation on their boards of directors by women and minorities, can find experienced business executives qualified for directors, but the...

Survey finds corporate governance practices are improving.
May 1, 2006... The Business Roundtable in March released its fourth annual survey of corporate governance practices among its members. It showed continuing improvements in corporate governance practices, including a continual rise in the percentage of...

Business group seeks improved governance standards.
May 1, 2006... Revelations of misconduct in some of America's leading corporations have seriously undermined confidence in U.S. businesses and in business leaders, warns a study from the Committee for Economic Development (CED). "The high-profile...

Pending SEC pay disclosure rules will likely cause few companies to change their pay programs.
May 1, 2006... Most U.S. companies do not have immediate plans to change their compensation programs in response to the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposal requiring better disclosure of executive pay programs, according to a poll conducted by...

Majority of directors want Sarbanes-Oxley repealed or overhauled.
May 1, 2006... Just four years after the enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley, 58 percent of board directors surveyed feel that the regulations have served only to make boards overly cautious, and should be repealed or overhauled, according to the 32nd Annual Board of...

Corporate reputation ranks high with financial analysts.
May 1, 2006... Reputations of corporations and leadership rank high in importance to financial analysts who rate companies and issue opinions, according to a major global survey of this influential group. Hill & Knowlton, along with public opinion research...

U.S. companies remain vulnerable to business risks.
May 1, 2006... Risk management may be a higher priority for today's largest companies, but many corporate leaders lack a high degree of confidence in their organization's capabilities in this complex arena, according to the Protiviti U.S. Risk Barometer. ...

Five years ago in The Corporate Board.
May 1, 2006... The growing competitiveness of our economic environment will place greater premium on the business wisdom that mature, first-class corporate directors can and must contribute. The critical need will be to shape and use the board's governing...

Ten years ago in The Corporate Board.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A greater role for the board is no panacea. Even the best strategy implemented flawlessly can be blindsided by the rapidity of change, particularly unpredictable change. Note that I said "unpredictable," not "unforeseen." There is a world of...

Books received.(Bibliography)
May 1, 2006... Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars. By Patrick Lencioni. $22.95. Jossey-Bass. Written in the fables style of the author's previous Five Dysfunctions of a Team, this new title further examines the value of teambuilding. The Well-Timed Strategy....

Articles & speeches.(Spoken & Written)
May 1, 2006... [At Fannie Mae,] a board made up primarily of independent directors, an audit committee made up entirely of independent directors, a Big Four of accounting firm alerted to the dangers of accounting fraud, and a regulator that claimed to be...

Recent board elections.(Directors' Register)
May 1, 2006... Abbott Laboratories has elected to its board W.. James Farrell, chairman of Illinois Tool Works Inc. Applica Incorporated has elected to its board Christopher B. Madison, principal of Mast Capital Management LLC. Arrow Electronics,...

Dr. Harold T. Shapiro: a pioneering presiding director.(Conversations)(Interview)
May 1, 2006... Corporate governance is an evolutionary process and nowhere more so than at The Dow Chemical Company. Just a decade ago, Dow was at the trailing edge of governance innovation, with a board largely composed of insiders and a chairman who was...