BUSN603 Corporate Governance and Risk Management
Task:
Questions:
Each question is worth a potential 5 marks of a total potential assessment mark of 30
1. Describe the actions taken and behaviour displayed by senior management throughout this saga in terms of enterprise risk management. Discuss if these actions and behaviour were not only inappropriate but potentially high risk, and whether they aggravated the situation. If you were in the position of Sam Venus, what would you have done differently during the crisis to address the risk involved, and what might you put in place to mitigate similar future risk?
Note: in order to answer this question properly, you need to identify the risks involved, as well as suggesting ways of managing them.
2. “Show me a company’s various compensation plans, and I’ll show you how its employees behave” - Jack Welch, Former CEO of General Electric Examine the key areas of concern in TAB’s remuneration plan. To what extent do you think these influenced the corporate culture and employee behaviour in TAB? What changes, if any, would you make to the remuneration plan to minimise agency conflicts?
3. In the Senate Inquiry Final Report, ASIC was described as “waiting for complaints, investigating a minute proportion of them, and prosecuting even fewer.” Critically evaluate the actions taken by ASIC throughout the course of the financial planning scandal, while highlighting difficulties ASIC might have faced during its investigations.
4. The media played an important role in exposing the fraud in TAFP. Discuss the role of the media in promoting good governance. Are there factors which limit its effectiveness? Can social media also play a role in enterprise risk management? If so, how?
5. Briefly discuss the importance of a good whistleblower protection policy. Do you think the policy sufficiently protected Bloe and his fellow whistleblowers? What further improvements can be made to encourage those who are aware of wrongdoings in an organisation to come forward, instead of remaining silent?
6. TAB had an excellent reputation amongst its customers but TAFP severely damaged it. What are the challenges faced by an organisation like TAB in promoting ethical behaviour, compliance and good governance throughout the group?
