Questionnaire Survey on Corporate Governance Practices

Dissertation Help-Questionnaire Survey on Corporate Governance Practices

Project Report 

Questionnaire Survey on Corporate Governance Practices

To the respondents:

Thank you very much for your willingness to join this survey.  This study is being conducted as part of the requirements for a master’s thesis at the University of _____________ in ___________ .Your response is very important. Please answer all of the questions, as your survey cannot be used in the study unless each question is answered.  The survey is asking questions on the practices in your firm, regardless of the laws and regulations. Your accurate and frank response is key. The results will be used only for research purposes and be presented only in aggregate without being revealed by individual firms.

Q.1  Where does corporate organisation rate in the list of current priorities within your organisation?

1. It’s the top priority
2. It’s one of the top three priorities
3. It’s among our top ten priorities
4. It’s important but not a management priority
5. Other

 Q.2 Who has primary responsibility for corporate governance issues within your organisation?

1. The Board of Directors
2. The CEO
3. The CFO
4. The investor relations department
5. A special corporate governance team
6. The audit committee
7. No one has primary responsibility
8. Other

Q.3 How confident are you that the following type of incident could not happen at your firm?

	1 Complete confidence	2	3	4	5 No confidence at all
Enron (i.e systemic governance failures)
Allied Irish Banks (ie exposure to actions of rogue employee)
Equitable Life (ie exposure to unexpected market or macroeconomic movements)
Merrill Lynch (ie conflicts of interest between revenues centres in the same company)
Withholding of sensitive information from independent directors

Q.4 Which of the following pose the greatest threat to the share price of your  organisation?

	1 Most Threatening	2	3	4	5	6	7	8 Least threatening
Unethical behaviour by employees
Credit risk
Market risk (i.e a downturn in market conditions)
Operational risk (ie IT or logistics failure)
Reputational risk
A failure to innovate as fast as competitors
Poor financial reporting and disclosure practices, including communications with analysts
A shortage of top-quality senior management talent

Q.5 Do Your Firm have a Code of Ethics?

a.       Yes

b.      No

Q.6. Has it been revised in the past 12 months?

1. Yes
2. No.

Q.7 In your view, what levels of understanding of the business do non-executive board directors have?

1. An excellent understanding
2. A good understanding
3. A satisfactory understanding
4. An unsatisfactory understanding
5. A poor understanding
6. Other

Q.8 What are the principal lesson other companies can learn from the collapse of Enron?

1. There should be full disclosure of off-balance-sheet transactions
2. Stock options should not form a substantial majority of a senior executive's compensation
3. Companies should not purchase audit and non-audit services from the same provider
4. Companies need to rotate their external auditors on a regular basis
5. There should be a majority of independent directors on the board
6. Key advisory committee should be composed solely of independent directors
7. The audit committee should be given greater powers to investigate financial reporting
8. The CEO should not also hold the position of chairman
9. The CEO should certify the accuracy of the accounts each year

Q.9 How many of the above prescriptions does your organisation put into practice?

  

Q.10. How much confidence do you have in the following to uncover irregularities in financial reporting within your organisation?

	1 Complete confidence	2	3	4	5 No confidence at all
Senior Management
The board of directors
The CFO
The audit committee
External auditors
Internal auditors

Q.11 How much confidence do you have in the following to rectify irregularities in financial reporting within the organisation if they are uncovered?

	1 Complete confidence	2	3	4	5 No confidence at all
Senior Management
The board of directors
The CFO
The audit committee
External auditors
Internal auditors

Q.12 what are the principal barriers to the implementation of proper corporate governance policies with companies?

	1 Most significant	2	3	4	5	6	7	8 Least Significant
Technology constraints make it difficult to get a decent integrated picture of the financial accounts quickly.
Lack of financial understanding on the part of senior executives and the board
Lack of financial understanding on the part of line managers and middle managers
Lack of business understanding on the part of the board
Lack of business understanding on the part of external auditors
Cost of implementing and communicating corporate governance policies throughout the organisation
Increased focus from shareholders and investors on operating cashflow measures rather than earnings per share
Cultural and managerial hostility to whistleblowing on dubious practices

  

Q.13 What potential impact does the imposition of strict corporate governance procedures have on the following aspects of business?

	1 Substantially negative impact	2	3 No Impact	4	5 Substantially Positive Impact
The ability to form new alliances and partnerships with outside entities
The ability to undertake innovative activities such as corporate venturing or spin-offs
The ability to find new and legitimate means of reducing financial risk
The length of due-diligence procedures during M&A transactions
The ability to take swift and effective decisions

Q.14 which of the following measures does most in your view to ensure corporate transparency for shareholders?

a.       Financial Results are discussed at press conference with media and analyts together in the audience

b.      Scenarios and probabilistic forecasts are used in forward-looking financial statements

c.       An operating and financial review is included in the annual report

d.      CEO certifies all statements and reporting of accounts to shareholders

e.       Reasons for and impact of accounting policies are discussed in the annual report

f.       Details of insider-trading by company officers are published faster than required by rule book

g.      Results are reported to uniform accounting guidelines before any reference to pro forma or adjusted information

h.      Corporate governance guidelines and a code of business conduct and ethics are in place and published

i.        International Accounting Standards are used in financial reporting

j.        Other.

Q.15. How many of the above measures does your company implement?

Q.16 Which Fortune 500 Company stand out in your view as a leader in the field of corporate governance and transparency?

a. General Motors

b. Exxon Mobil

c. Coca-Cola

d. ABB

e. BP

f. Microsoft

g.Wal-Mart

h.Berkshire Hathaway

i.IBM

k.Shell

l.GE

m.None

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