How to Write about Corporate Governance

Prepared and Presented by

Yasser Akkawi
 An active and informed media is essential in
helping small investors and other affected
stakeholders make informed decisions
about corporations.

Good governance is a fundamental element

of a democratic society.

The media sector provides oversight and

strengthens a democratic system.
Management deals with daily operations, while
Governance is about the underlying ethics of a corporation.

Poor management can affect governance

Weak governance undermines the financial and
operational performance of a corporation
Weak governance affects investors faith in the
company.
Corporate Governance Business Ethics

Structure of decision-making Guide for behavior

CORE VALUES
Transparency
Fairness
Accountability
Responsibility
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 Ethical business practices increase the ability to
keep existing customers and gain new ones

Positive impact on employees

Attracts foreign and domestic investment

Improves the image of the company to the public

Shows a commitment to playing a positive role in

society and being a good corporate citizen

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Effective corporate governance means that:
Transparency values are present
Investors receive timely and relevant
information
Decision-making is not done behind closed
doors
Decision-makers are held accountable for
their actions
Managers act in the interest of a company

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Effective corporate governance makes it
hard for companies to provide bribes or
other company resources to government
officials in exchange for services.

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 Functioning Markets
Better Environment for Doing Business

Property Good Market Rule of Access to

Governanc Informatio
Rights e Entry Law n
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 Owners and managers in family firms are
the same so is corporate governance still
relevant?

Need access to new capital

Prepare for succession planning
Transparency in decision-making
Improve company image in the community
Ensure legal compliance with the laws
Confront corruption

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 Separate family and company relationships

Address differing interests of among family

members (some want dividends, others want to
reinvest profit)

Create well-understood and concrete governance

policies for the company

Create a strategy to handle growth of company

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Find out what information the company has actually submitted and ask
the following questions:

Are the reports accurate?

Are the reports adequate?

How easy is it for shareholders to access information?
What is the companys attitude toward shareholders and other
stakeholders?
It is essential that every corporate governance story includes the basic
elements of good journalism:

Factual and accurate information

Credible sources
Jargon-free language
Balance and fairness
Time frame
Context & background
Implications & relevance
The so what angle
 Serve our readers/listeners/viewers;
Represent them when they cannot be present;
Pay attention for warning signs;
Find and tell the truth as far as you can;
Expose problems/ fraud/ corruption/ negligence/ incompetence/
abuse of power;
Act as an independent watchdog (especially where regulations or
the legal system is imperfect or insufficient);
 Challenge business people, politicians, regulators, and absolutely
anyone involved
Check inconsistencies in comments and claims
Report views from all sides
Compare and contrast different views
Explain and give background
Analyze the situation (with the help of resources)
 For good corporate governance, a companys leadership
should be clear and transparent about how a company is run
and how it is doing
If the media does its job well, it will help make the situation
more transparent;
The medias job is to ask questions and follow up the answers;
Journalists must understand corporate governance issues to
be effective
 For balance ask a variety of different stakeholders their views on
corporate governance questions;
Stakeholders represent a wide range of sources for story ideas on CG;
Build your knowledge. Think more about the issues around corporate
governance and you may get more ideas for stories
Corporate governance is a way to look for the root of a companys
problems
 Company news is not just about reporting results and performance but
also what happens within a company to achieve that;
Its not just about strategy but how a company decided on that
strategy;
Highlight where transparency is lacking and privilege exists. Otherwise
someone gets an unfair advantage, which is likely to be inefficient;
 Highlight what differs in your country from internationally accepted
good or best practice ( and ask why);
See what laws/regulations/codes you dont have in your country that
others do and ask why not?;
Discuss the relationship between the financial crisis and corporate
governance issues - audience interest tends to increase when
markets fall and companies crash
 Highlight issues rather than the term corporate governance but
begin to use the term in articles and explain what it means.
Poor corporate governance can lead to:
Corruption and Fraud
Conflicts of interest
Interference between family problems and the company
Tax evasion or money-laundering
Poor treatment of employees
Disregard for the environment

These are issues that affect all Yemenis

 Examples and case studies are good ways to explain
to your audience;
People like reading about people. Humanize the
corporate governance stories how does this effect
ordinary people?
 Ask companies why they dont follow accepted corporate
governance principles where others do;
If a company is not submitting information to the public, ask them
why not?
Check the by-laws of a company what do they require the
company to do? Are they complying with their own rules?
 See whats changed from companys previous annual report etc. what
dont they report or highlight any more? Have they changed focus and,
if so, why?;
Try to find people on the inside that will give you information but
beware legal problems;
Raising questions at an early stage can warn people of potential
problems before the authorities take action;
 Try to influence governments and regulators to take necessary action;
Probe to see if companies put action to their words about committing
to good corporate governance
Follow up/ monitor any promises of action;
Make foreign investors, analysts, portfolio managers and active market
players partners and contributors;
Check relevant forums and blogs for clues
Subscribe to specialist publications like Global Proxy Watch.
 Corporate governance affects shareholders, workers, customers,
suppliers, financiers concerned about investments, people with
pension funds you have to illustrate the impact.

Executive excess. Greed. Power struggles

Conflict between managers and owners (as well as other stakeholders)

 Company Employees;
Company Analysts;
Former Employees;
Company Advisors;
PR Representatives;
Industry Associations;
Competitors; and
Front-line Personnel.
Good reporting on business and economic trends can be found on:

BBC at www.bbc.co.uk
Business Week at http://www.businessweek.com:
The Economist at www.economist.com: This offers some articles
without a subscription.
The Financial Times at www.ft.com (partial subscription)
Reuters at www.reuters.com
The Wall Street Journal at http://www.wsj.com (subscription only)
THANK YOU