Most companies have identified risk management as an important area for training in view of the uncertain market environment. -- ST PHOTO
A SURVEY of 130 listed firms in Singapore shows that good corporate governance practices are alive and well here.
They make up about 20 per cent of all firms listed on the Singapore Exchange.
About 88 per cent of the participating firms were mainboard-listed firms from a wide cross-section of industries such as manufacturing, services and commerce.
The bulk of them are incorporated in Singapore, with only a few listed firms incorporated in jurisdictions such as Bermuda and Thailand participating in the survey.
Key findings of the survey, conducted between December last year and April, are as follows:
Most executive directors and non-executive directors do not hold additional directorships - contrary to public perception;
There is an increased element of independence with more independent directors holding meetings in the absence of the chief executive and management last year to discuss issues pertaining to the company;
More companies have established a formal process to assess the suitability of directors prior to their appointment;
More companies are providing training such as strategic management, legal, accounting and audit management to independent directors to ensure that they are equipped with the skills to deal with a fast changing business environment;
Most companies have identified risk management as an important area for training in view of the uncertain market environment;
Companies have also started to engaging external parties to conduct appraisals on their boards;
About 80 per cent of the companies surveyed conduct performance evaluation on their chief executives, look into succession planning as well as the development of their chief executives and top executive team;
About 70 per cent of the firms have put in place a whistleblower policy to protect staff who came forward with information on alleged frauds and other potential wrong-doings in the company;
and
More listed firms are actively communicating with their investors than before.
