Les conseillers en rémunération sont-ils responsables des hausses excessives des rémunérations globales des hauts dirigeants et des membres des conseils d’administration ? En grande partie, selon The Guardian !
The Guardian Critics point their fingers at the pay consultants appointed by remuneration committees at top companies, describing their relationship as being akin to a cartel. Voir l’article.
Executive pay consultants behind escalating boardroom salariesy
Voici le neuvième Panorama 2011 de la gouvernance des sociétés cotées françaises, publié par Ernst & Young. La recherche utilise une approche méthodologique rigoureuse qui permet les comparaisons sur plusieurs années. La première partie du rapport présente un sommaire des tendances en gouvernance en France.
Au fil des ans, ce rapport est devenu, pour les sociétés cotées françaises, « un outil essentiel de mesure de la performance, objectif et pragmatique, en phase avec les exigences croissantes de l’actualité et du cadre législatif et réglementaire ».
Panorama des pratiques de gouvernance des sociétés cotées françaises
Voici quelques articles « du jour » indicatifs des changements en cours en ce qui regarde la composition des C.A. Ces articles sont relativement courts; ils mettent principalement l’accent sur l’importance, de plus en plus grande, accordée à la diversité sur les C.A.
The board room is going through an extraordinary time of transition. More is being demanded of boards than ever before, and the activities of boards are under greater scrutiny.
Some disconcerting findings on the lack of diversity in the boardrooms of Canada’s largest corporations were…
European Quotas for Women CEOs Help Crack Boardroom Glass Ceilings
Women are cracking boardroom glass ceilings all over Europe, spurred on by new quota requirements in many countries to put women at…
La diversité dans le C.A. est-elle uniquement une question d’apparence ?
Walk down a main street in Canada and you’ll likely find yourself in a diverse crowd of different genders, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations and physical abilities. But step into a corporate board of directors meeting and you will probably find yourself in a homogeneous all-male, all-white group.
Voici le résultat d’une vaste consultation menée par la Commission européenne sur le contenu du livre vert lequel énonce les futures règles de gouvernance des sociétés européennes. Les réactions sont assez mitigées :
According to the Commissioner, two areas in Corporate Governance require progress: (1) the Commission will see how Corporate Governance can help to get a long term approach, (2) at boards’ level, there is a need for effective rules, right diversity, appropriate skills and independence.
Flexibility is required and the comply or explain principle has to be maintained but it is not enough to leave certain issues to this principle such as rules on disclosure, minority shareholders and related party transactions. In addition, it occurs that the respondents to the consultation:
– Are divided as to the need of further regulation on the EU level,
– Are against one size fits all approach
– Favour a principle based and flexible approach
– Call for EU measures in some specific fields (disclosure of remuneration, identification of shareholders)
Regarding boards, there is a consensus to call for more diversity, more time commitment, board evaluation, board’s approval of risk strategy and profile, disclosure of remuneration.
But the views are divided regarding prohibition of cumulated mandates, limiting number of mandates, binding quotas, mandatory external evaluation.
Regarding the comply or explain principle, respondents agreed that the quality of explanations given by companies should be improved but the respondents are divided on whether monitoring bodies should check the informative quality. Some respondents refer to the Swedish model where the alternative solution adopted has to be described. The Commission in its different speech refers to this model twice.
Réactions au livre vert sur les règles de gouvernance en Europe
Voici un résumé des énoncés concernant l’importance à accorder aux parties prenantes dans le nouveau code de gouvernance en Afrique du Sud. Ce sont des questions qui sont de plus en plus abordées dans les discussions sur le traitement à accorder aux parties prenantes, autres que les actionnaires:
The Principles underlying King III’s Chapter 8, Managing Stakeholder Relationships are stated to be the following:
8.1. The board should take account of the legitimate interests of stakeholders in its decisions.
8.2. The company should proactively manage the relationships with its stakeholders.
8.3. The company should identify mechanisms and processes that promote enhanced levels of constructive stakeholder engagement.
8.4. The board should strive to achieve the correct balance between its various stakeholder groupings, in order to advance the interests of the company.
8.5. Companies should ensure the equitable treatment of shareholders.
8.6. Transparent and effective communication is important for building and maintaining relationships.
8.7 The board should promote mutual respect between the company and its stakeholders.
Voir le rapport au complet:
Excellent article de Richard Leblanc, publié dans Canadian Business aujourd’hui, qui décrit quatre raisons de faire des évaluations externes de C.A.
I’ll never forget the day a dominant CEO kept interrupting me to say how effective he and “his” board were, despite the results of my assessment (the board was in trouble with regulators and the CEO later resigned). Then there…
Le nouveau rôle du Chef de la gestion des risques
The Evolving Role of the Chief Risk Officer « ERM Advantage ermadvantage.com
In working with different sized institutions to develop an enterprise risk management program, some of the questions that tend to come up relate in particular to the Chief Risk Officer’s (CRO) role, including:
Vous trouverez, sur le site de Spencer Stuart, une excellente synthèse des résultats de l’étude 2011, menée auprès des 500 entreprises du S&P. Ce rapport sur l’état de la gouvernance des sociétés américaines révèle certaines tendances significatives en ce qui concerne (1) le recrutement d’administrateurs, (2) le processus du conseil et (3) la rémunération des membres du conseil.
– Declining board turnover
– More independent board leadership
– Fewer active CEOs as directors
– Older boards
– Mixed results in diversity
– Rebound in compensation
Si vous souhaitez avoir une meilleure compréhension de la portée de l’étude de 2011, plus de détails sur le sommaire, et même la possibilité de lire l’ensemble du rapport.
Voici un article, publié dans dealbook.nytimes.com et partagé par Cynthia Biasolo, qui montre que dans beaucoup de situations même un C.A. « puissant et expérimenté » n’a pas toujours la volonté de « challenger » les décisions d’un PDG « super puissant ».
La chute de MF Global, à l’instar de très nombreuses autres institutions financières, tend à démontrer que le C.A. n’a pas exercé toute la vigilance requise en matière de gestion des risques.
Que faire dans ces cas ? L’auteur suggère de questionner le PDG davantage et de s’assurer d’établir une culture de gestion des risques dans l’entreprise (« tone at the top »).
Excellent article qui suscite la réflexion sur l’efficacité des C.A. dans leur rôle de surveillance des intérêts des stakeholders.
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Vous trouverez, en date du 7 novembre, un bref résumé de l’avis du Comité économique et social européen (CESE) sur le livre vert : Le cadre de la gouvernance d’entreprise dans l’UE (version anglaise). |
Corporate Governance (CG) Definition : The CESE claims for a better definition of CG.
Not a « one fit all system » : “The specific characteristics of legislation, traditions, manner of doing business and behavioural patterns of shareholders vary across Member States and make it very challenging to provide a sound legislative framework at EU level”
Importance of ownership structure : the CESE encourages the European Commission to “perform and make available a detailed study on recent developments and trends in shareholders’ types, structure and relative importance in terms of shares held”.
Training : “All directors should receive induction on joining the Board and should regularly update and refresh their skills and knowledge”.
Unlisted companies : “The Commission should emphasise and promote the development and application of voluntary codes at national level for unlisted companies especially those with significant importance to society in particular companies with state or municipal ownership and companies with significant market power”. The document refers to the OECD guidelines for SOEs.
CEO/Chair split : the CESE is not in favour of European regulation imposing this type of separation.
Gender diversity : the CESE favours the comply or explain principle, transparency and disclosure.
Number of mandates for non executive directors : “The number of mandates a non-executive director can hold simultaneously should, in principle, be limited, but it would not be easy to set the precise number arbitrarily”.
Boards’ evaluations : “the CESE encourages formulation of stock exchange indexes and independent ratings of good governance practices”.
Minority Shareholders : “Any introduction of further complementary rights should carefully balance the interests of minority and controlling shareholders so that procedures for making important decisions are not blocked. The presence of a controlling shareholder could guarantee additional control over the membership and activities of the Board of Directors.”
This agreement is the product of a rigorous process of due diligence by both Colleges to ensure the fundamental structure, content and exam processes of the two respective programs are equivalent.
Each organization confers its own designation upon its graduates, and under the terms of the reciprocal agreement, graduates of one program can obtain the designation of the other program, upon application and without further study or examination.
Founded by The Conference Board of Canada and the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, The Directors College – Chartered Director program – was the first university-accredited director education program in the country.
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Quebec’s financial sector regulator l’Autorité des marchés financiers, and the Government of Quebec’s ministère du Conseil exécutif, joined forces with Université Laval to create the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés which offers the premier and only university certified, private and public sector corporate governance program in Québec.
Here is a look at this very solid Program in Governance : The chartered Director Program (C.Dir.)
J’avais déjà partagé le point de vue de Richard Leblanc sur les Boards du futur. Dans cet article, paru dans CorpGov.net, le journaliste James McRichie pose une série de questions à Richard Leblanc afin de l’amener à préciser davantage sa vision des Boards du futur. C’est un article qui pousse la réflexion encore plus loin et qui mérite certainement notre attention.
Professor Richard W. Leblanc recently posted an article to his blog titled The Boardroom of the Future: Changes that will reshape corporate governance that merits wide exposure. Leblanc is a tenured, award-winning teacher and…
Dans son Bulletin de novembre, The Director’s Dilemma, Julie Garland McLellan nous propose une étude de cas que je considère vraiment très pertinente. En fait, il s’agit d’une situation avec laquelle vous êtes probablement tous déjà familiers, celle d’un nouveau membre de C.A. confronté à un Board « faible » et à un PDG « puissant ». Que doit faire Frank et pourquoi ?
Frank has been recently elected to a board position with a NFP, which is quite large with 500 employees and $70m in assets. The board has a strong CEO, who seems to do what she wants. In the past the board was relatively weak and the CEO needed to use her expertise without relying on theirs. The board could have been described as ‘light weight’ in regard to governance and corporate knowledge. One board member, for example, is a microbiologist with great critical thinking but no understanding of how to run a company. This led to a culture where the CEO would respond to board queries by asserting that the matter of interest was « an operational issue » and for board members to rationalise her response by accepting that the CEO « has it under control ».
The board recognised its weakness and sought out some new company directors with governance training and corporate understanding; hence Frank’s invitation to stand for election. Frank is encountering opposition in asking critical questions of the CEO and trying to probe for information, because the board says the business is under the CEO’s control.
He is concerned the board has a weak Chairman who does not support the board in taking effective control or oversight. He is seriously considering if he should stay and try to improve matters slowly or if he should leave as he truly feels the board is dangerously negligent. However, he likes a challenge, believes in the objectives of the NFP, and feels that his fellow directors are honest and well intentioned.
Vous pouvez consultez les avis de trois experts
Un expert se prononce sur les caractéristiques des Boards du futur et sur son environnement. Très intéressante synthèse sur le Blog de Richard Leblanc.
A global “mega-cap” company recently asked me to submit a briefing on how a boardroom of the future will look. This is an abridged summary of my report. Your shareholders will nominate and elect your directors by electronic…
Selon Forbes, le mouvement pour réglementer le % de femmes sur les Boards semble prendre de la vigueur en Europe. Après la Finlande, la Suède et la France, l’Allemagne semble également prendre cette direction. Cet article a été partagé par Richard Leblanc.
Germany is seriously considering the imposition of corporate gender quotas, with Labor Minister Ursula von der Leyen saying that she’s “completely convinced” German corporations will never reach gender parity unless legally forced to do so.
According to the Atlantic, Social Democrat Andrea Nahles has also come out in favor of quota laws, while a “working draft” of what regulations might look like is said to be knocking around the Family Ministry.
The Atlantic quite correctly notes that quotas are unthinkable in the United States where the Supreme Court has found them to be unconstitutional in public universities seeking a diverse student body.
And Germany is more women-deficient that the U.S. Our female corporate leadership hovers around 15% while Germany’s DAX companies log in at a shameful 3.7%.
Still, Europe is fast outpacing the U.S. in the representation of women on its Boards of Directors, with one out of four board members in Sweden and Finland being female and France clocking in at 40% after the French National Assembly passed a law imposing gender diversity quotas. (see U.K. report Getting the Right Women on Board).
Le processus du vote des actionnaires aux assemblées annuelles pose de très sérieux problèmes. Comme le rapporte Louise Champoux-Paillé, ASC, David Masse, président de la Société canadienne des secrétaires corporatifs, dans un colloque tenu les 24 et 25 octobre à Toronto, affirme qu’il y a « des irrégularités importantes dans plus de la moitié des assemblées d’actionnaires ». Voir, à ce sujet, mon commentaire dans le groupe Board Advisor de LinkedIn (en anglais) :
The Canadian Society of Corporate Secretaries (CSCS) – Summit Resources (Conference on Shareholders Democracy) has been a most welcomed event. All the topics that pose problems in the voting process have been adressed. For answers to almost all our interrogations, we could read the paper produced by Davies Ward Phillips & Wineberg : « The Quality of the Shareholder Vote in Canada ».
This discussion paper presented at the meeting gives a better understanding of the voting mechanism, provides a solid identification of the major problems and proposes sound recommandations. A must read, even if it is a complex issue.
Le Conseil sur la surveillance des risques et la gouvernance (CGRG) de l’Institut canadien des comptables agréés (ICCA) a produit des documents pratiques, pertinents, synthétiques et accessibles sur presque toutes les questions de gouvernance. En fait, l’ICCA a été un pionnier dans l’élaboration de publications répondant aux questions fondamentales que les administrateurs se posent sur l’ensemble des thèmes se rapportant à la gouvernance. Ces documents sont révisés régulièrement afin qu’ils demeurent actuels et pertinents.
Toute formation en gouvernance des sociétés réfère à cette documentation de base. Ainsi, le Collège des administrateurs des sociétés (CAS) et son partenaire canadien, le Directors College (DC), puisent abondamment dans les ressources documentaires de l’ICCA, dont tous les grands cabinets sont membres, tout en étant de précieux collaborateurs des programmes de formation au Canada. Vous trouverez ci-dessous la collection de « 20 questions » à l’intention des administrateurs de sociétés. Si vous avez des questions dans le domaine de la gouvernance, vous y trouverez certainement des réponses satisfaisantes. Je vous encourage donc fortement à consulter ces publications. Vous pouvez les commander ou les télécharger.
Gouvernance | Jacques Grisé 