The boardroom Archive

Audit committees at large US companies are offering increased levels of transparency regarding their work in overseeing outside auditors, according to a new study. Research by the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) and Audit Analytics finds that 40 percent of S&P 500 companies now disclose considerations in appointing the audit firm, up from 13 percent in 2014, when the organizations first compiled data on the issue. There has been a steady increase in each of the i...

— The Wall Street Journal reported that US tech companies, having faced questions about how they treat consumers’ personal data, are hoping to get ahead of the public and legal fallout by working with policy makers to help shape potential new federal privacy legislation. ‘There’s been such a shift’ in industry views ‘that ...

– The Financial Times reported that, according to a study of 1,854 public groups by the Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) consultancy, European businesses that have more female directors are less likely to be targeted by activist investors. The analysis found that companies not targeted by hedge fund activists had, on average, 13.4 percent more women on their boards. Paul Kinrade, ...

Corporate directors took note earlier this year when Jana Partners sent an open letter to Apple’s board in a case of Apple and the Activist, Round 2. We already knew that no company, no matter how admired and profitable, is safe from large activist investors. After all, it had been almost five years since Carl Icahn announced his position ...