2008 RiskMetrics Group Australia Governance Conference:

Capacity Constraints - Australia’s Governance Infrastructure

Monday, 28 April 2008
Melbourne Business School, Carlton

Australia is justly proud of its governance infrastructure, especially when compared with the situation in many other jurisdictions, even in the developed world. But has this sense of relative superiority led to complacency over the status quo? The unravelling of credit markets worldwide have left many investors searching for answers as to what has gone wrong in company reporting, board rooms, executive pay structures and seen hedge funds and share lending blamed by many for large movements in share prices. Even Australia’s poison pill-free takeover environment has shown signs of strain over the past 18 months under a plethora of top-of-the-market takeovers.

RiskMetrics Group’s 2008 conference highlighted areas where the governance regime in Australia – and overseas – is under strain, and what, if anything, needs to be done.

The focus was on:

• The new wave of accounting shenanigans
• Are shareholders adequately protected under Australia's takeover laws?
• The short selling debate
• Executive pay: Reforming the framework