TT companies get failing grade on corporate governance standards

The Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business, University of the West Indies (UWI-ALJGSB), in collaboration with the Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics and Board Effectiveness, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto (CCBE), released the results of a study on the status of corporate disclosure practices among publicly listed companies on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE).
The Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business, University of the West Indies (UWI-ALJGSB), in collaboration with the Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics and Board Effectiveness, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto (CCBE), released the results of a study on the status of corporate disclosure practices among publicly listed companies on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE).

TWO-THIRDS of TT's publicly listed companies do not meet the majority of corporate governance standards for annual reports, suggests a new study from the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business.

The study, which lasted a year and was conducted in collaboration with the University of Toronto (UoT), used 26 internationally-recognised benchmarks for annual reports and corporate governance, including the TT Corporate Governance Code.

Each of the 27 companies listed on the TT Stock Exchange (TTSE) received one point for every criterion met.

Barbados-based Sagicor topped the rankings with a score of 23, while Guardian Media, Readymix, Plipdeco and Unilever all tied for last place with just two points.

Jamaica's National Commercial Bank scored 22, while state bank First Citizens scored 21. First Citizens was the only company to comply with all the criteria required by the TT Corporate Governance Code.

None of the companies listed reported executive compensation, all but one reported directors' shareholding, six had no women on their boards, while West Indian Tobacco led the charge with 50-50 gender parity on its board.

"Good corporate disclosure is an attractive quality to an investor," Lok Jack GSB said in a release along with the report today.

Matt Fullbrook, Manager at the UoT's Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics and Board Effectiveness, Rotman School of Management, said via the release that the centre had been conducting such research for the last 18 years.

“There is a growing body of evidence, both academic and practical, that suggests that good governance is a risk factor, not just in terms of the success of the corporations but also in terms of issuers ability to attract capital and their ability to retain the confidence of their investors,” he said.

Dr. Ron Sookram of the Lok Jack GSB and project lead, as well as his colleagues, will follow through on their research by working closely with the TTSE to enhance disclosure practices in public listed companies, the school said.

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