APRA Conference 28-30 May 2014

PR & Corporate Governance : What

Synergy?

Jane VallsCEO

Mauritius Institute of Directors

andChairperson

African Corporate Governance Network

(ACGN)

UNLOCKING AFRICAN POTENTIAL

ACGN

10 Founding Members:• Institute of Directors Kenya• Institute of Directors in Malawi• Mauritius Institute of Directors• Institut Marocain des Administrateurs • Institute of Directors Mozambique• Institute of Directors in Southern Africa• Institute of Directors in Tanzania• Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda• Institute of Directors of Zambia• Institute of Directors Zimbabwe

New members and partners

• IOD Nigeria • IOD Senegal• Targeting: Algeria, Botswana, Cote

d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Namibia, Seychelles and Tunisia

• Partners, affiliates and collaborators: NBF, Webber Wentzel, IFC, FITC Nigeria, ACCA, EY, EthicsSA, ASEA, ESSEC, Standard Bank, World Bank

WHY?

According to the International Monetary Fund, Africa will host seven of the top ten fastest growing economies in the world in the next five years. With the current focus on growth and development in Africa, good corporate governance and capacity building in this area, is vitally important.

Our Mission and Vision   

Mission•To develop the institutional capacity of ACGN members for enhancing effective corporate governance practices towards building better private and public sector organisations and corporate citizens in Africa.•Vision•Africa, a continent committed to effective corporate governance and ethical leadership.Our Values

Values•Transparency – Being open and clear•Integrity – Ethical behaviour and consistency of actions and values•Teamwork and Collaboration – Leveraging collective knowledge•Accountability – Being answerable to stakeholders•Diversity – Being respectful of the diversity of the African continent

Objectives• Exchange and share knowledge, information, best practices

tools and resources.• Demonstrating good practice within member organisations and

network• Building sustainable capacity to enable membership

organisations to achieve their goals• Common platform for advocacy, initiatives and communications• Expand the network• Create a favourable investment climate (outcome)• Conduct research.

4 KEY FOCUS AREAS

1. Research• Baseline study• repository of information on corporate

governance in Africa• EY support2. Advocacy• Stakeholder engagement and mapping• Lobbying for improved corporate

governance after research completed

4 KEY FOCUS AREAS

3. Collaboration•Sharing of tools and best practices•MOU’s with key stakeholders4. Capacity Building•Assessment of each member•Develop action plan, training, coaching and mentoring •IFC has been approached for support

ACGN ~ together representing the voice of over 11,000 directors and

senior executives in Africa

Challenges facing corporate governance

reform in Africa• Corruption• Regulatory issues• Inactive shareholders• State owned enterprises• Board weakness• One-size fits all governance codes• Political instability

Website www.afcgn.org

PR & Corporate Governance : What

Synergy?• Role of the professional Public

Relations practitioner in todays world of corporate governance

• Managing the interests, attitudes and perception of all the stakeholders

• The rocky road that has brought us here

QUESTION?

•What is Corporate

Governance?

Corporate Governance

£400m taken from the pension fund

What Is Corporate Governance?

“Corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled….”

Sir Adrian Cadbury, UK, 1992

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•ENRON•WORLDCOM•PARMALAT•MAXWELL•BARINGS•BCCI•VIVENDI•SATYAM•LEHMAN

Lehman Brothers 4th Largest Investment Bank in the

USBankrupt in 2008

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In December 2008, Bernard Madoff admitted to a Ponzi Scheme.

In March 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal crimes and admitted to operating the largest investor fraud ever committed

by an individual. In June 2009 he was sentenced to 150 years in prison.

Madoff

LEHMAN BROTHERS SHARE PRICE

19 Jan 2012Case for Corporate Governance

Housing bubble peaked in 2006

BRADFORD & BINGLEY SHARE PRICE

Case for Corporate Governance 19 Jan 2012

40 million people

lost their jobs

RUPERT AND JAMES MURDOCHNEWS OF THE WORLD

Strong commitment to corporate governance reforms

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The five key elements ofgood corporate governance

Elements of goodCorporate Governance

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Ethics

SATYAM – WHERE TRUST WAS ABUSED

• Satyam Corporate Services - annual revenues > USD 1 billion in 2008 - winner of World Council for Corporate Governance’s Golden Peacock Award

• January 2009 - Confession by Founder and Chairman

- Embezzlement of about USD 1 billion in cash

• A year later - “ A steady improvement in the functioning of boards in India…Independent Directors… more involved in overseeing the affairs of their companies and property minority rights”

(Comment by ARUN DUGGAL, former CEO Bank of America in India)

In late 2011 the company fired its newly appointed British CEO causing a scandal that wiped 75% off the company's stock market valuation.

The board members had engaged in one of the biggest loss-concealing scandals in Japan.

REPUTATION

Corporate Governance in the Financial Services

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Stakeholder Management

Balanced Picture

NEWS

Corporate Communications