Rapporter & tendenser

EY: Topledelser skal udvikle en holistisk “geostrategy”: I en rapport fra EY hedder det opsummerende: “In our Global CFO Survey, which comprised 500 CFOs in 30 countries, we found that CFOs were bullish on doing business in the US, mainly due to a positive economic outlook and the passage of landmark tax reform. • However, the survey results indicated that CFOs are concerned about US policies that would restrict the flow of goods, capital, and people, as these could negatively impact the current positive business environment. • The improved outlook for the US economy is generating optimism about growth among CFOs, yet at the same time, there are high levels of concern with unconventional or inward policy shifts from the US. This raises the question of how companies are approaching the difficult task of integrating this uncertainty into their business planning and whether they can be prepared for any potential adverse and longer-term impact of geopolitical events. • In our modeling of three potential geopolitical scenarios for the US, the Isolationist scenario was defined as the most inward-looking, characterized by protectionist trade policies. Our models reflected that over a five year period, Isolationism was associated with significantly lower US GDP — a cumulative loss of $2 trillion — and higher unemployment — 1.7 million US job losses — as compared with an open-market Internationalist scenario. • To minimize risk and take full advantage of opportunities, companies need to develop a more strategic approach to understanding geopolitical change. This involves defining a holistic “geostrategy.”

Opbygning af relation til investorer er central i selskabers krisehåndtering: I analysen ” Building investor relationships before a crisis hits ”, oplyses det, at ”From an investor perspective, crisis preparation begins months and years before an event occurs. Companies that dedicate resources to building strong relationships with their investors through a robust engagement plan are taking the necessary steps to generate a reservoir of credibility and trust which can be drawn upon in the face of a difficult event. There are a few main reasons why building relationships over time is so important:

First, making contact with an investor outside of the context of a difficult situation allows companies to establish a working relationship and open dialogue. Discussions in the context of a voting issue may feel transactional for investors; seeking investor views when there is not an immediate vote at stake demonstrates the company’s genuine interest in obtaining and integrating investor feedback on important topics.

Second, tracking investor perceptions of the company’s board, compensation and governance practices can inform the board’s discussion of potential changes and facilitate the adoption of practices that are viewed as responsive to investor concerns.

Third, understanding the nuance of how to most effectively communicate with specific individuals and teams within each organization can enable companies to more effectively interpret subtle shifts in tone or behavior during a crisis situation and ultimately spot and address investor issues in advance of a vote.”

Analyse af nomineringsudvalgs forskellige roller i UK og Sverige: I forskningspapir med titlen “ Lessons from Sweden and the UK “ hedder det, at ”While therefore similar in many respects, the nature of the two countries’ NCs are very different. In the UK, the NC is an internal committee of the board on which independent members sit and nominate successor members of the board. In Sweden it is an external committee in which shareholders play an important role in the selection process. The internal system of the UK delegates the nomination of new members of the board to its non-executive members. In Sweden, on the other hand, the nomination process resides with representatives of shareholders themselves. As will be described in the paper, in general Swedish companies have large controlling shareholders who have incentives to exert significant influence over the nomination process. Consequently, by giving them a presence on the NC, its nomination process encourages their direct engagement in the appointment process and mitigates the shareholder disengagement problems that afflict the UK internal system. On the other hand, it does this at the expense of creating another problem, namely potential divergences of interests between different types of shareholders, notably between large, well-informed and small, uninformed, shareholders.”