Helping directors deal with the crunch

The Chartered Accountants of Canada have released a new publication aimed at helping corporate directors understand the business implications of the global financial turmoil.

The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants publication is titled: Director Alert: The Global Financial Meltdown – Questions for Directors to Ask (PDF). The alert is brief — it highlights key topics for directors to consider to better understand their companies’ exposure and their own obligations.

“These are not questions to which there will be immediate or easy answers,” said co-author Robert Adamson, who is executive director with the CICA-sponsored CIBC Centre for Corporate Governance and Risk Management. “The alert is intended to be an overview of the capital market pressures facing Canadian companies and to ensure management is preparing for what lies ahead.”

There are four categories of questions:

Uncertainty, risk and business strategy
Financial condition and liquidity
Reporting and disclosure
Leadership and corporate governance

“Both short- and longer-term issues are addressed in the alert,” noted Adamson. “However, the document focuses more on the longer term — the forward-looking and strategic fallout that will confront companies and their management in the months and years ahead.”

The alert is being issued by the CICA’s Risk Management and Governance Board and can be downloaded from www.rmgb.ca.