Cornelis A. de Kluyver, an academic and practitioner with global experience, has written A Primer on Corporate Governance published by Business Expert Press. While not nearly as extensive as recent textbooks by Bob Tricker or Monks and Minow, this is a quick read that provides most of the basics for future directors and those who work with them.
He very briefly reviews the history of corporations, rise of fiduciary capitalism, recent moves to federalize corporate governance, various conflicts of interest, and provides a thumbnail international sketch. However, his short explanations sometimes over simplify. For example, in reviewing director duties he states, "the primacy of shareholder value maximization wa affirmed in a ruling by the Michigan State Supreme Court in Dodge vs. Ford Motor Company.
Unfortunately, he’s not alone in perpetuating this myth. In Why We Should Stop Teaching Dodge v. Ford (pdf, Virginia Law & Business Review, spring 2008), Lynn Stout argues more convincingly that credit for the concept that corporations exist only to make money for shareholders should go to law professors, not the courts. Dodge v. Ford is best viewed as a case that deals not with directors’ duties to maximize shareholder wealth, but with enforcing the fiduciary duty of controlling shareholders to minority shareholders. Because different shareowners have different investment time frames, tax concerns, attitudes toward risk, etc. it is impossible to discern a single, uniform measure of shareholder wealth to be maximized. Additionally:
- Articles of incorporation typically don’t say they are organized primarily to profit shareholders but, instead, for anything lawful.
- Similarly, state corporation codes typically provide their purpose is "to conduct or promote any lawful business or purpose" and many authorize corporate boards to consider other stakeholders.
- Judges routinely refuse to impose any legal obligation on directors to maximize shareowner wealth.
De Kluyver does explore stakeholder theory but concludes shareholder value maximization "will continue to dominate the U.S. approach to corporate law for the foreseeable future," with the courts giving boards increasing latitude.
Elsewhere, he discusses governance reforms and concludes, "There is real danger, however, that the rise in shareholder activism, the new regulatory environment, and related social factors are pushing boards towards micromanagement and meddling." Many of us wish there had been a lot more "meddling" by boards prior to the current financial crisis, but de Kluyver is writing for board members, not shareowners.
Although he appears to reject recent moves to require specific subsets of directors to be independent, he appears to agree they should be more allied with shareowners than with management and that separating the roles of chairman and CEO "gives boards a structural basis for acting independently."
In discussing stock options, de Kluyver notes, "Until recently, many U.S. companies were not very diligent in assessing the cost and value of options and treated options as being cost-free." He says nothing about the Business Roundtable’s campaign to undermine the Financial Accounting Standards Board. An uninformed reader could be left with the impression that CEO’s had no role in this effort to hide costs. Likewise, he says "most of the pressure on boards on the last 25 years has come from shareholders." Hasn’t more pressure come from CEOs who are there providing direction at every board meeting? Even with recent steps empowering shareowners, CEOs still hold more sway over boards, including who is nominated.
In discussing shareowner proposals, de Kluyver says, "One of the most popular shareholder proposals today demands that shareholder be allowed to directly nominate and elected directors rather than work with the slate recommended by the board’s nominating committee." Popular in what sense?
The SEC allowed such proposals for many years until it looked like the proposals would obtain majority votes. Then the SEC, without changing the governing regulations, decided such resolutions violated the rules. That position stood for many years until challenged by AFSCME. When the underground regulations were overturned by the court only about three such proposals were introduced before the SEC, under Cox, banned them through new regulations. Now, under Schapiro, such proposals will again be legal, probably in 2010. To describe "proxy access" proposals in 2009 to be "the most popular shareholder proposals today," without much explanation, seems misleading.
In the book’s epilogue de Kluyver revisits the issue of "proxy access." However, rather than clarifying the issue he informs readers that the SEC considered proposed rules to allow it, but rejected them. Of course this is true, but de Kluyver gives the impression the issue is dead, whereas everyone following this issue has known for years that "proxy access" would be back on the table under a new administration. It would be important to note that majority voting requirements, the end to "broker voting" and proxy access will require boards to cooperate more closely with shareowners.
The book is at its best in borrowing liberally from thought leaders and consensus shaping organizations by providing various lists of best practices: Succession Planning is an Ongoing Process; CEO Selection: Common Board Mistakes; Succession Planning: Best Practices; Red Flags in Management Culture, Strategies, and Practices; 10 Questions About Ethics and Compliance for the Board; Five Questions About Hedging; Enterprise Risk Management: The Board’s New Tool; Executive Compensation: Best Practices, What Defines Best In-Class Boards?,; etc.
Regardless of my nitpicking, de Kluyver gets the big picture right. "The tug of war between individual freedom and institutional power is a continuing theme of history. Early on, the focus was on the church; more recently, it was on the civil state. Today, the debate is about making corporate power compatible with the needs of a democratic society." De Kluyver offers readers information that can help them to become better directors and better corporate citizens.
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