Governance Risk and Control Assignment Assignment Task: Critically appraise the corporate governance, risk management and internal control weaknesses which contribute to company failings and scandals, by reference to a corporate scandal of your choosing. In answering this question, you should: assess the social and other consequences of such significant corporate losses and scandals, concluding whether such organisations can be considered truly socially responsible; analyse the principal weaknesses in corporate governance and risk management that may have contributed to the demise of or scandals in such companies; and present your views on what should be done in future to ensure that the behaviour of corporate management uphold the highest possible standards of integrity and social responsibility expected of them by society at large, in managing and controlling the organisations and resources for which they are accountable. You should use a recent company failing or scandal of your own choosing to support your evaluation. Examples of scandals appropriate for such analysis include British Home Stores (BHS) in 2016 and Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) in 2008. Assignment fairly flexible in that: Example companies of HBOS and BHS are referred to, but only as an illustration of the type of case to assist students understanding what may be suitable. There is no requirement to use those companies, although students are welcome to if they find them interesting. You should choose a company you are interested in analysing, but the corporate failing or scandal you choose: Must have governance, risk or control issues and demonstrate social and ethical concerns so you can address the specific areas required; and You must explain a brief background to the chosen corporate failing or scandal You may want to consider comparing and contrasting different companies, so it is entirely appropriate to refer to other corporate failings and scandals to demonstrate similarities and differences. However, be careful not to explain these in too much detail as there is risk the assignment will become too factual. 3,000 words is not a large amount for an assignment of this nature. Points to consider on assignment Look at the assessment criteria: Assignment will be marked based on extent fulfilled each assessment criteria Must include research: Must refer to academic journals, which are properly referenced All references to factual statements or views must be supported by the appropriate reference Assignment has some flexibility to focus on areas you are most interested in, so not prescriptive You need to show an understanding of all the issues, but it would be impossible to analyse in detail all the issues in 3,000 words, so you should choose two or three of those you consider the most important to analyse in more detail (ensuring that ethics and social issues are addressed) Newspaper articles of scandals are often a good starting point to understand the background of corporate scandals and collapses, and highlight some of issues evolving, but not sufficient on own: There are normally many more articles available on these types of scandals, analysing the issues involved; You need also to be looking at academic research on specific areas to be able to evaluate the various views. In the assignment would expect: Some introduction of objectives; Understanding of the facts of the case; Discussion on and demonstration of understanding of the key financial, governance, internal control and risk management failings, social and ethical issues arising as a result of your chosen case Consideration of the interrelationship of these various issues, particularly the impact of ethics Demonstration of how such scandals have global consequences due to interdependencies of organisations globally Focus on a few of the issues arising above: For example, internal control and risk management failings There should also be some inclusion of governance Some of these should include social and ethical issues When considering structure use headings to split up into sensible sections as per above possible split. Many different structures would be appropriate for an assignment of this nature, the main thing is to ensure there is a logical flow from one section to another Use research and articles on the relevant areas: Need to evaluate the governance issues arising (this may be some specific aspects of governance) and will probably include control and risk management weaknesses Consider the effectiveness of different CG frameworks in managing and controlling organisations and resources. Can refer to different codes used in different parts of world if believe better practice elsewhere Consider future implications for governance (this is an area students are more likely to forget) Based on consideration of social and ethical consequences, consider what CSR is and what a truly socially responsible company would look like Highlight social consequences and potential implications for CSR going forward Would expect a conclusion – this will vary depending on content and discussion in main body, but should NOT introduce new information Appendices Include for any extra detail, tables, graphs etc. supporting main body. Cannot be used to provide extra information that should be in the main body to get around word count issues. Main body should stand alone without need for reader to refer to appendix, unless interested in knowing more detail Appendices should all be cross referenced in main body Other points Submit with assignment cover sheet with your name on Include heading May consider contents page but not a specific requirement Write in paragraphs – do not make these paragraphs too long Sub-headings can be useful for focus and structure Don’t overcomplicate your language, particularly if English is not your first language Simple language and shorter sentences can be more effective in conveying ideas Be dispassionate. This may be an evocative subject, but personal views should not be expressed and an evaluation based on “evidence” or “facts” is needed Questions arising from these sorts of cases you may want to research What is a truly socially responsible company? Is quality, service and looking after customers, suppliers and employees more important Need to win back trust Can company be as profitable without being truly socially responsible? Agency theory and issues arising Appropriateness of different governance frameworks globally Should CG be rules or principles based Need for transparency, accountability, integrity (all underlying CG principles) Questions about control environment, risk management and philosophy (tone at the top) Is regulation sufficient? And are regulators strong enough? Do governments have some blame for poor regulation? Are there independence issues with regulators having too strong links with organisations? Relationship between governance and ethics (key aspect to cover) This raises questions about interrelatedness of aspects above Which in turn leads to implications for the future of governance
