QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
PART 1. Basic Company Facts
The Board of Directors (BOD) is the highest governing authority in a public or private incorporated company. Locate the listing for your company’s Board of Directors (annual report or company website). There has been an international movement to improve gender representation. On December 31, 2014, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) issued a requirement for the annual disclosure of the number and percentage of women on the board of directors or in executive positions and for target levels to be established. A majority of provinces in Canada have adopted this requirement. It is commonly called “Comply or Explain”.
• How many board members are on the company’s current Board of Directors?
• What is the proportion either # or % of male vs. female directors?
Using the ticker symbol provided, check Google finance or the stock market for the market capitalization (market cap) of your company. Market capitalization is the total dollar market value of all of the company’s outstanding shares and is used by the investment community as a measure of company size.
• Indicate the amount of current market capitalization (market cap.) for your company and the date on which you obtained this information.
The company’s leadership addresses the shareholders, typically, at the annual stockholders meeting.
• Identify the location and date of the last annual shareholders’ meeting. Does the company hold online (virtual) or “bricks and mortar” shareholders’ meetings?
Corporate governance is an increasingly important area of shareholder concern. The Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG) is a leading voice of shareholders and its recommendations such as “Say on Pay” are gaining increasing attention.
• Does your company describe its corporate governance practices in its annual report or on its website? What are the benefits of providing this information?
• If the company does not provide this information, indicate if you feel governance is important (or not important) for this company and why? (one paragrap
