Welcome to the Centre for Corporate Governance
The Australian Centre for Corporate Governance aims to promote dialogue in the critical area of corporate governance among industry bodies, companies and their boards of directors, investors, professional services firms, academia, and government. The site is tailored for the governance concerns of Australia and includes a diverse collection of governance tools, resources and thought leadership from Deloitte and third party sources.
Learn More
Risk management and internal control
The second edition of the Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations made significant changes to the scope of Principle 7: Recognise and Manage Risk. These changes reflect the increasing expectations of stakeholders and supervisors/regulators as to how companies should manage risk and require companies to ensure management and oversight of material business risks.
-
Recognise and manage risk: A guide to compliance with ASX Principle 7: A reference to help facilitate compliance with the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s revised Principle 7.
Annual general meetings
-
Presentations by committee chairs at the AGM: This article explores the benefits of having committee chairs speak to the reports of their respective committee at the AGM
-
Planning for the auditor’s participation at the AGM: Adequate planning with the auditor is vital, particularly when written questions from shareholders have been received prior to the AGM or when questions on contentious issues are anticipated
Dig Deeper
Board effectiveness: The director's cut
Deloitte Australia’s annual survey is based on interviews of over 200 chairs and directors of the ASX 200. It establishes a benchmark for Australian boards and enables directors to identify both individual and collective trends and issues.
- Click here to read an excerpt of the report.
- Want to know more? Contact us.
Director and officer duties
The court’s findings arising from the James Hardie proceedings (Australian Securities & Investments Commission v Macdonald (No 11)) provide important lessons for directors and officers regarding their disclosure obligations under the ASX Listing Rules and the Corporations Act 2001
- Lessons for directors and officers from the James Hardie litigation: Blake Dawson’s Company Law & Governance Update looks at the lessons for directors and officers arising from the court’s findings.
- James Hardie proceedings (23 April 2009): This ASIC media release includes a table identifying the contraventions determined by the court.
Board Audit Committee Conversation Series
Since early 2006 Deloitte Australia has held forums for Board Audit Committee members and chairs on key topics.
Hot Topics
Taxation of employee share schemes - exposure draft package
The exposure draft package on the taxation of employee share schemes was released for comment on 14 August 2009. The public consultation process includes an open invitation for written submissions and an interactive dialogue with industry (including Deloitte) on technical issues. The new laws are intended to "ensure taxpayers are taxed consistently regardless of the forms of remuneration they receive".
Productivity Commission's inquiry into executive pay
On 30 September 2009, the Productivity Commission released a discussion draft of its report Executive Remuneration in Australia. The draft report makes recommendations that seek to ensure executive pay practices are in line with community standards and sustainable business practices. The recommendations are designed to improve board capacities, reduce conflicts of interest, encourage stakeholder engagement, improve disclosure and ensure well conceived remuneration policies.
Governance
The current economic volatility is increasing pressure on companies to improve their governance practices.
- The Walker Review outlines ‘defined principles’ for corporate governance in the UK banking industry. The Review’s recommendations indicate the potential direction that a regulatory response may take post the global financial crisis and are therefore noteworthy for Australian companies. A snapshot of the background and themes of the Walker Review is provided by Deloitte for directors of Australian companies.
- OECD publishes 'Corporate Governance and the Financial Crisis: Key Findings and Main Messages'
- OECD publishes 'The Corporate Governance Lessons from the Financial Crisis'
- Governing in Volatile Times: Even More Pressure on Audit Committees: The current credit crisis has prompted virtually every audit committe to place the financial health of their organisation under the microscope.