The Australian Securities Exchange Corporate Governance Council today released its first update to the ASX’s Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations since 2003.
To be launched officially this afternoon by Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer Chris Pearce, the document focuses on greater corporate governance, directorial independence and recommends a ban on hedging unvested options.
The most notable change is in Principle Seven, which accedes to overwhelming business demand to refuse public disclosure of material and related risks. It does, however, advise on greater internal risk oversight, improved management policies and control systems.
However, submissions did show significant interest in sustainability and corporate responsibility (CR) issues, notwithstanding that submissions indicated sustainability/CR had a wide variety of meanings.
Principle 2 addresses directorial independence, setting out a list of “relationships affecting independent status” that a company should take into account when determining the independence of a director. Companies will now be required to disclose their reasons for considering a director ‘independent’, notwithstanding the existence of one of these relationships.
See full Article.
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