| Renewed focus on corporate governance | ||
| In the aftermath of the dot.com bubble, there was focus on corporate governance to ensure that there also was substance behind the companies, you as an investor engaged yourself with. Perhaps it is therefore only natural that after the current credit crisis, a renewed focus on corporate governance has arisen. Tick-box mentality In most countries, there are quite elaborate rules in place concerning corporate governance. However, it has in many instances become just another routine to live up to, and when the different requirements have been met, management have considered it a job done, ticked the box on their virtual to-do list, and moved on to what they have considered more important. However, by doing so, you are selling yourself short. Corporate governance is not just another set of procedures. They ensure that you actually are the company, you think you are. The aim of asking your customers, your shareholders and by incorporating external board members or directors, you get an outside eye which may tell you some truths about your products and services or the company itself. If there is a significant discrepancy between what you think and what other people say, it is up to you as responsible management to act. Non-engagement equals risk-taking What we saw, when the dot.com bubble burst, and what we have seen now with a number of financial institutions is a pronounced non-engagement in the difficult questions. The growth in global real estate prices has fallen or even stagnating for some time, but that did not prevent credits to be readily available. By not listening to the outside world, banks and mortgage companies took on an additional risk, which initially went well but had dire consequences later on. Corporate governance in the SAM Headhunting Group A/S In the SAM Headhunting Group, we have a continuous focus on corporate governance. In the board of the parent company, we today have two external board members. Moreover, we are continually working on extending customer analysis and quality assurance programmes to all markets to ensure that we deliver what we originally had set out to do. In addition, SAM Headhunting Denmark has just launched a new product, which focuses on headhunting board members. Surveys have shown that Danish companies with external and independent board members are on average 50 percent more profitable compared to companies, who have selected their board from their immediate network. This means that by getting an outside view of your company, you do not only secure the long-term future of your company, you also gain considerable profits within a relatively short time frame. Read more Read more about headhunting board members on the web pages of SAM Headhunting Denmark (in Danish) | ||
| Date | 29-03-2009 | |||