February 05, 2006
There is no Free Lunch with Governance
With the advent of Sarbanes-Oxley, some firms have chosen to list in the UK and Japan where transparency and governance standards are limited. It is true that this may be good for the company taking the public's money, but is it good for investors? If a company has nothing to hide, they why not voluntarily comply with good governance and transparency standards?
There is a reason why Sarbanes-Oxley happened. Too many CEO's of public companies and boards had become arrogant about their ability to do whatever they wanted without any questions.
Are we to believe that companies who chose to list on exchanges with lower standards have higher governance standards or are they just running from the bright light of openness? For an excerpt on this topic, see below:
Foreign listings in London 'carry risk'
A GROWING number of firms are listing in Britain to avoid tough reporting rules under the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act, although investors may be unaware of the risks, a corporate governance specialist revealed.
Karina Litvack, head of governance and socially responsible investment at F&C Asset Management, said a record 129 non-British companies listed on the London Stock Exchange last year, an 82 per cent increase on 2004. But they don't have to comply with UK corporate governance laws, or explain why, if they choose not to do so.
Litvack added there was a danger investors may find UK-listed foreign businesses do not meet the same rigorous standards that exist in the US. For the complete article, click here.
If your company has good governance standards and needs help in effectively complying with Sarbanes-Oxley, then click here to learn more about the Compliance Playbook(tm) or if you are based in Canada and must comply with Canadian or US regulations, click here to learn more about Compliance Partner(tm).
There is a reason why Sarbanes-Oxley happened. Too many CEO's of public companies and boards had become arrogant about their ability to do whatever they wanted without any questions.
Are we to believe that companies who chose to list on exchanges with lower standards have higher governance standards or are they just running from the bright light of openness? For an excerpt on this topic, see below:
Foreign listings in London 'carry risk'
A GROWING number of firms are listing in Britain to avoid tough reporting rules under the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act, although investors may be unaware of the risks, a corporate governance specialist revealed.
Karina Litvack, head of governance and socially responsible investment at F&C Asset Management, said a record 129 non-British companies listed on the London Stock Exchange last year, an 82 per cent increase on 2004. But they don't have to comply with UK corporate governance laws, or explain why, if they choose not to do so.
Litvack added there was a danger investors may find UK-listed foreign businesses do not meet the same rigorous standards that exist in the US. For the complete article, click here.
If your company has good governance standards and needs help in effectively complying with Sarbanes-Oxley, then click here to learn more about the Compliance Playbook(tm) or if you are based in Canada and must comply with Canadian or US regulations, click here to learn more about Compliance Partner(tm).
