Keeping Good Companies articles from July 2004

Keeping Good Companies archives from July 2004

Cascading good governance through the organization.(Applied Corporate Governance)
July 1, 2004... * Companies need to be sensitive to employee attitudes to corporate ethics * UK survey reveals misconceptions underlying boardroom mindsets * Good governance programs underpinned by a combination of enforcement, surveillance and...

Financial instruments: recognition and measurement.(Company Secretary)
July 1, 2004... * The introduction of a standard governing the recognition and measurement of financial instruments * The criteria for the reclassification or derecognition of financial instruments * The requirement for impairment testing of most...

Shareholders agree to reconstitute board.(Corporate Law)
July 1, 2004... * When an agreement between shareholders of a listed company breaches the core takeover provisions of the Corporations Act * The implications of a recent case * The consequences can include divestiture of the offending shareholders'...

Bullying in the workplace: liability of companies and their directors.(Employment Law)(Brian Gerard Coleman & Graham Gerard Coleman, M A Coleman Joinery (NSW) Pty Ltd.)
July 1, 2004... * New paradigm in occupational health and safety * Elimination of risks to health and safety include elimination of the risk of bullying * Companies need to implement and enforce anti-bullying and violence policies In the first...

UNCTAD's contribution to corporate environmental accounting.(Environment Law)(United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)
July 1, 2004... * Conventional accounting models do not allow environmental performance to be measured and reported * Linking environmental and financial data for an accounting and reporting framework * Providing a standardised format for the...

The case for Company Secretaries being independent.(State Focus)
July 1, 2004... One of the theories of good corporate governance is that a Company Secretary is a fearless adviser to the board. He or she owes the board an unqualified allegiance and is required to serve it faithfully. The Company Secretary's dual...

Workforce audits: the key for SMEs to maximising employee performance.(Management)(Small and medium sized companies)
July 1, 2004... * Employees are the most important asset of a business * How to measure and assess employee motivation, commitment and performance * Improved people management practices = improved business performance This article is predicated...

Enforcing obligations of confidentiality.(State Focus)(AG Australia Holdings Limited v Burton & anor)
July 1, 2004... Was a financial loss suffered by 68 000 shareholders sufficient public policy reason to abrogate express contractual obligations of confidentiality? The Supreme Court of NSW enforced an employee's express contractual obligation of...

Director and executive remuneration disclosure: AASB 1046.(News And Views)(Australian Accounting Standards Board )
July 1, 2004... * Listed companies must comply with the new standard * Requirement to provide the remuneration of the directors and executives responsible for governance * Components and measurement of remuneration and disclosures related to equity...

Corporate compliance: don't get caught, it could cost your firm big dollars.(Risk Management)
July 1, 2004... * The emphasis on clean data in relation to lodgment of documents with ASIC * The period of leniency in relation to software programming difficulties is coming to an end * The advantages of outsourcing corporate compliance Due to...

Applying for relief for wholly-owned subsidiaries gets quicker.(News And Views)
July 1, 2004... If you're the Company Secretary of one or more wholly-owned subsidiaries or a corporate group, you may be aware that, for a long time, ASIC has provided financial reporting and audit relief under class order (CO) 98/1418 for such subsidiaries,...

Understanding super safety.(Superannuation Law)(Australia. Prudential Regulation Authority rules)
July 1, 2004... * Licensing for APRA-regulated superannaution fund trustees * Licensing to be in place by 30 June 2006 * Need to focus on risk-management documentation Many superannuation fund trustees have been eagerly following the development...