At least three in ten Compliance Professionals are aware of public and private organisations with “questionable” corporate governance.
At least three in ten (32pc) Compliance Professionals in the financial services sector are aware of large public and private sector organisations with questions to answer on corporate governance and financial management.
Furthermore, almost six in ten (58pc) compliance professionals in Irish financial organisations believe there is room for their organisation to improve in the area of its own corporate governance.
These are the findings of a new survey by the Compliance Institute of 230 compliance professionals working in financial services organisations nationwide, in the wake of the recent payment controversy at RTE that came to light last year.
Headline findings from the Compliance Institute survey reveal that:
When asked Do you think other[1] large public or private sector organisations are at risk of being publicly challenged over their governance and financial management?:
Two-thirds (67pc) agreed this could be the case though they said they were not aware of a specific organisation with such issues.
More than one in five (22pc) are aware of at least one large organisation in the public sector that has questionable governance and financial management controls with a similar number (23pc) cognizant of at least one large private sector firm with questions to answer in this regard.
Only a tiny number (1pc) doubt that there are many organisations without failings in the area of corporate governance and financial management.
When asked Are you confident that your organisation executes a high standard of corporate governance at Board level and financial management at an Exec level?
Almost one in two (48pc) said there are areas around corporate governance and financial management which their organisation could improve on though for the most part, they were confident that their organization executes a high standard in this regard.
One in ten (10pc) said they believe their organisation needs to “up their game” on corporate governance, admitting to not feeling fully confident that there is a high standard of corporate governance at board level and financial management at an executive level within their firm.
Over one-third (36pc) of compliance professionals said they are “absolutely” confident that their organisation has a strong track record on corporate finance and financial management at executive level.
Commenting on the survey findings, Michael Kavanagh, CEO of the Compliance Institute said:
“It is worrying that almost one-third of Compliance Professions are aware of at least one large organisation in the public and private sector who have questions to answer on corporate governance. This suggests that the recent controversy at RTE, which has led to huge public disquiet about pay and corporate governance at the national broadcaster, as well as concerns around how taxpayer money is being spent, could be just one of many to emerge.
One in five staff at RTE are facing job losses as a result of the financial crisis currently facing the national broadcaster – so the ramifications of the recent financial and corporate governance issues at RTE will be felt for some time yet. The fallout from that controversy – as well as the huge public anger which ensued – highlights just how important it is for organisations to have a strong corporate governance framework and impeccable financial management structures in place. Failure to do so not just risks the viability of the organization but also their reputation, as well as the public confidence and trust that is so vital for a society, economy and public services to function.”