Does Increased Shareholder Participation Mean A Better Company?

Corporate governance has been put under the spotlight globally with the spectacular failure of a number of well known listed companies including HIH Insurance Limited, Enron Inc. and WorldCom Inc.

In Australia the importance of effective channels of communication between companies and their shareholders, as well as efficient and transparent voting mechanisms to enable shareholders to enforce board accountability recently came under the microscope of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services (Committee). The Committee through its report entitled Better Shareholders - Better Company: Shareholder Engagement and Participation in Australia has set out several recommendations to improve shareholder engagement and participation.