Governance

Are you adapting your governance model to changing stakeholder expectations?

Governance models must be able to respond to evolving challenges such as new regulation, emerging technology strategies, risk management, and succession planning. The pace of change is accelerating just as stakeholder demands are becoming more diverse across new markets. Boards are paying more attention to enhancing communications, increasing oversight of crisis management planning, and focusing on fraud and IT risk.

Ultimately, getting the governance models right for the future depends on building the right leadership pipeline today. CEOs find recruiting and retaining high-potential middle managers is a particularly difficult challenge. On a more positive note, management teams are — slowly but surely — becoming more diverse. Forty percent of US CEOs rely on local regional management teams and almost a quarter say these regional leaders are also part of their organization’s global management teams.

 

Featured governance insights

 

10Minutes on shaping the boardroom agenda

This 10Minutes outlines key points from PwC’s 2012 Annual Corporate Directors Survey that illustrate how boards are working to improve their oversight.

 

To the point: Current issues for boards of directors

This edition of To the point: Current issues for boards of directors, reviews guidance from the SEC and DOJ about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and policy updates from the ISS on executive compensation, board response to proposals with majority shareholder support, hedging of company stock, and what directors should know about data security and cyberattacks.

 

Washington National Tax Services Insight: 2012 election results point to continued divisions over tax policy

Can compromises be reached before the end of this year to avoid the 'fiscal cliff' effect of scheduled tax increases and spending reductions

 

Washington National Tax Services Insight: IRS explains key definitions for complying with healthcare law

The IRS recently released guidance addressing some of the very technical issues facing employers as they implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

 

Board Composition and Structure: Are directors willing to consider investor input on candidates?

How do companies choose their board of directors? Do shareholders have any say on the decision process? Find out in PwC's Annual Corporate Directors Survey.

 

Download PwC's 2012 Annual Corporate Directors Survey

Download PwC's 2012 Annual Corporate Directors Survey

 

Board evolution: Progress made, yet challenges persist

With all the changes to corporate governance requirements and strategies, what do the board of directors from leading companies think? Our Annual Corporate Directors Survey takes a look.

 

Fraud and other risks: Managing a crisis to save your company's reputation

Directors try to prevent fraud and protect themselves from risk, but how they communicate their response to a crisis can impact their company's brand and reputation.

 

IT Oversight: From "back-office" support function to strategic imperative

Rapidly emerging innovations in technology are impacting companies' strategies, operations and growth. How are boards of directors responding? Explore our Corporate Directors Survey to learn more.

 

Company strategy: Viability and agility are imperative

Why is having an effective strategy so important to a company's competitiveness and overall operations? Directors in our Annual Corporate Directors Survey offer some insights.

 

APEC 2012 CEO Summit: Economic integration an imperative for continued economic growth

For the continued economic growth of the APEC territories, the need for economic integration, both between the APEC territories, and beyond is established reality. The fastest growing APEC economies will account for about two-thirds of overall APEC trade, up from about half in 2011.

 

2012 Current developments for directors: Finding direction in uncertain times

This annual publication focuses on the critical governance issues directors and senior executives face, offering information, insights, and practical guidance to help directors meet the demands of their role and enrich boardroom discussions.

 

Annual Corporate Director Survey 2011 findings: Boards respond to stakeholders concerns

In the summer of 2011, 834 corporate directors responded to PwC’s 2011 Annual Corporate Director Survey. Sixty seven percent of survey respondents were on the boards of companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue, representing the current boardroom thinking of today’s world-class companies. Their responses indicate a clear recognition of the challenges they face with this altered landscape. Directors are listening carefully, and are focused on responding, to the concerns expressed by shareholders, regulators, and other stakeholders.

 

2011 Current developments for directors: Charting the right course

The 2011 edition of Current developments for directors includes a section on factors that are influencing companies' growth plans. Also discussed are how global trends are affecting companies' operations and international expansion opportunities and covers key developments in regulatory reform, financial reporting, and tax reform.

 

2010 Current developments for directors

The key issues that stand out in 2010 for directors include business challenges given the state of the economy, the impact of global tax trends, financial reporting and regulatory developments, major ongoing legislative issues, and a special focus on government involvement in business.

 

10Minutes on effective audit committees

Audit committees, management, and auditors work together to meet the information needs of the capital markets and to ensure quality audits and financial reporting. The leading practices in this 10Minutes may help audit committees continue to improve their oversight of auditors and management, thereby enhancing the quality of audits and financial reporting.

 

10Minutes on the boardroom agenda

In this short report, PwC discusses new governance regulations, new risks, and issues of executive compensation and succession planning.

 

10Minutes on the future of revenue recognition

Revenue, or the “top line,” is a closely monitored measure of an entity's growth and market share. The FASB and IASB are currently in the process of replacing existing revenue guidance with a new global accounting standard for all revenue transactions. How will this change affect your business?

 

Seeking shared agendas with governments

By helping create jobs in the private sector and by investing in infrastructure, governments can help create an environment conducive for growth. In fact, almost half of CEOs surveyed say that improving the country’s infrastructure and fostering a skilled workforce should be government’s top priorities. But how can CEOs enter strategic and collaborative relationships with governments to pursue their own growth agendas?

 

Interview with Niall Ferguson

In this interview, author and commentator Niall Ferguson brings this unique perspective to the major issues of the day—financial, economic, and political. As a student of empire, he also offers his views on why civilizations rise, fall, and, possibly, rise again.

 

Trust but verify: From transparency to competitive advantage

“Trust but verify” was a slogan used during the Cold War to describe the basis for transparency in political relationships. Today, the term can be used to describe a strategy for narrowing the “trust gap” not between nations, but between companies and stakeholders. Whether you are trying to prevent a trust-eroding event or repair the damage after one has occurred, transparency is key. But it's not the only factor of a successful solution. You need credibility to back up the promise of transparency. What can companies do to achieve both?

 

Defining the lead director role

A new role emerged as a result of recent corporate scandals: the lead director, whose main function is to foster greater transparency and accountability among senior leadership. Beyond that, there's been little consensus regarding the responsibilities a lead director should assume. Here we take a closer look at how the role should be defined and what its key offerings are to an organization.

 

How CFOs should audit the cloud balance sheet

Initially viewed simply as a way to create more agile, efficient IT organizations, cloud computing is fast becoming the means for a new type of growth based on an opportunity that PwC calls the extensible enterprise. How can CFOs use cloud computing to help the enterprise grow, while dealing with the new challenges it presents around governance, risk, and compliance?