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(April-2003) ACSI releases governance guidelines
The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) has launched a set of corporate governance guidelines to provide trustees with a framework of governance issues when dealing with listed companies.
ACSI president Michael O’Sullivan says the guidelines were put together after a year of research. “The membership wanted us to develop corporate governance polices and we have also instituted an alert service for trustees regarding voting at annual meetings,” he says. “This service has been available from January 1, so it is in time for this year’s reporting season.”
The guidelines cover areas such as composition of boards, remuneration of directors and CEOs and the relationship of auditors.
O’Sullivan says the guidelines focus on transparency and disclosure. “We want to build long-term shareholder value in the companies that superannuation funds invest in and that can be achieved by good governance,” he says. “We hope ethical behaviour becomes the norm in the future.”
Among the many funds to embrace the guidelines are UniSuper and PSS/CSS.
UniSuper CEO Ann Byrne says her fund looks at the guidelines when dealing with a resolution and that helps the trustees to decide whether to vote in favour or against the motion. “UniSuper reviews a number of areas, such as independent directors, and we then delegate our voting decisions to our managers,” she says.
PSS/CSS CEO Steve Gibbs adds that his fund votes on every resolution at annual meetings. “Many of the resolutions are not contentious, but we have voted against boards, especially on the election of directors,” he says. “We ask our managers about their voting intentions and we compare that with the ACSI guidelines.”
AUTHOR
Zilla Efrat
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