Culture, Boards and the Company Secretary

Corporate culture is a hot topic with the regulator of late – it is even making headlines with Theresa May promising in one of her first policy releases as Prime Minister to tackle ‘irresponsible behaviour in big business.’ But why does corporate culture matter so much? Reviews carried out in the UK post the 2008 financial crises found the crash was a result of bad culture, specifically a lack of personal responsibility along with excessive risk taking, according to the Kay Review. Other scandals attributed to corporate culture include the more recent financial reporting blunders; excessive executive pay; hyper tax management; mismanaged pension contributions; emissions cheating; payment protection insurance; interest rates swaps; Libor manipulation; and FX rigging, among others.