Improving the Performance of Corporate Boards: Identifying and Measuring the Key Drivers of Success

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This paper draws heavily from extensive research and the guidelines that were developed by the authors and adopted by the Society of Management Accountants of Canada and published as ‘Measuring and Improving the Performance of Corporate Boards’, Hamilton, ON: The Society of Management Accountants of Canada, 2002.

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As a matter of fact, in order to comply with the SOA, the board is required to establish procedures to hear confidential employee complaints about accounting, internal auditing controls and auditing matters. See Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002—available at http://banking.senate.gov/pss/acctrfm/conf_rpt.pdf

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Dell Computers, for example, has introduced five-year vesting periods for its stock options, while other companies have introduced more stringent stock ownership policies that require senior managers to hold a substantial percentage of shares during their entire tenure with the company. Other companies are examining alternatives like issuing stock rather than options, benchmarking performance, and long stock holding periods for senior executives.

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