News

Mario Lara, member of the Executive Committee of PwC Spain and partner responsible for the Boards of Directors Programme, and Luis Ferrándiz, Senior Advisor at PwC and expert on boards of directors, gave a talk yesterday at ESADE Madrid on the main conclusions of two PwC reports, on the boards of directors of listed companies in the United States and Spain, respectively.

According to Mr. Lara, one of the differences between boards of directors in the two countries is that turnover is more pronounced in the US than in Spain. “This is because of the difference between the corporate governance model and the corporate culture", he explained. Mr. Ferrándiz added: “Spain is still weighed down by the fact that it is more difficult to change board members in this country".

The reports highlight certain issues on which boards have been assessed positively and others on which there is room for improvement. In both the US and Spain, the board members surveyed said they would like to have greater powers to manage technological risks within the board’s purview. “In the US, 45% of board members are not qualified to address these issues, and in Spain, there are too many people specialised in law and finance", said Mr. Lara. “This should be offset by other areas of expertise, such as technology".

The report conducted by PwC Spain examined the operation of the boards of listed companies and their remuneration, as well as the time dedication and the remuneration of independent executives. They also took into account board members’ opinions on the prospects of changing certain aspects of corporate governance. The study was based on the results of interviews conducted between November 2010 and April 2011 at 36 listed companies, as well as information available to the public.

The American report summarised a survey, conducted in the summer of 2011, of 864 board members, 67% of whom belong to companies with revenues in excess of $1 billion. The report addressed issues related to achieving greater transparency in terms of remuneration, risk management, and the various functions of boards of directors, as well as certain future-related issues such as succession planning, diversity and training.