Grant Thornton Hong Kong would like to present the results of our fourth Corporate Governance Review.
As at the end of April 2015, Hong Kong’s stock market was the fifth largest in the world and the third largest in Asia in terms of market capitalisation.1 In the wake of the Consultation Conclusions on Risk Management and Internal Control, and Consultation Paper on Review of the Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting Guide, both issued by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx), risk management is at the top of the executive agenda, alongside an increased emphasis on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting; issuers in Hong Kong are now required to consider incorporating a risk-based approach into their existing internal control frameworks, establishing integrated risk management and internal control systems, and facing additional ESG disclosure responsibilities.
In the midst of the proposed changes to the regulatory landscape that are set to become effective for accounting periods on or after 1st January 2016, corporate governance scandals which landed enforcement actions taken by regulators against some renowned listed companies continued in 2015.
This year’s review will take a closer look at how well issuers are equipped for the upcoming compliance challenges. We also prepared the review to reflect the current state of corporate governance in Hong Kong, identify key corporate governance trends and provide Grant Thornton’s insights into an array of issues, such as directors’ duties, management responsibilities and accountabilities, risk committee, board composition, risk management and internal control, disclosure on information technology, ESG reporting and corporate governance code compliance, among our statistical findings.
We hope you find this year’s review useful in helping you plan ahead the risk management and internal controls procedures. We would be delighted to hear your thoughts.
Download2015 Hong Kong Corporate Governance Review
