EDITOR’S LETTER… Responsibility and Recklessness

One thing in particular stands out in the wake (hopefully it’s wake rather than precursor) of the spectacular troubles in the country’s finance sector – why aren’t we hearing more from the directors who govern these organisations? Liquidators and administrators are doing their best to inform those affected and to reclaim the investments, but where are the explanations from those in the governance roles? This month’s cover story delves into the governance of the finance company sector, probing the role directors play in these companies and asking what needs to change to avoid further collapse.
Climate change is another area where governance is under scrutiny as new challenges arise and need addressing. As our article says, how corporates apply an appropriate governance response to the challenge of climate change policy and environmental regulatory intervention will have major impact on shareholder value.
We also learn from CEO about how boards can help businesses going through major changes – how the working relationship between operational and governance can be improved to everyone’s benefit.
And we hear from an academic about the growing social demands for organisations to be good corporate citizens and the implications this has for directors and governance.