One of the most difficult tasks for the founders of any new business is finding the capital necessary to get the business up and running. Before abandoning the financial security of their current positions, entrepreneurs need to carefully review the capital requirements for the proposed...
Decisions regarding products and target markets must be made in the context of the competitive and technological environment in which the business is operating. As a general rule, unless existing competitors are not able to meet demand for specified products, thereby creating an opportunity for...
No business can expect to be successful unless the founders and managers understand the relevant markets and develop a strategy for reaching potential users and educating them about the value of the company's products or services. Presumably, serious consideration of a new business would not...
Business planning begins with information. As noted above, one important part of the strategic value of the business planning process, and the formal written business plan that emerges from that process, is the knowledge that the founders and the other senior managers acquire while they...
The audit committee, working in collaboration with the board’s corporate social responsibility committee, should be expected to play an important role in overseeing the company’s sustainability policy, commitments, procedures and reporting. Some of the specific duties and responsibilities of the committee in this area include: ...
Lee and Shimpi noted that enterprise risk management (“ERM”) has emerged as an important and essential management practice and a recognized strategic discipline and that organizations have created ERM-specific roles, responsibilities and structures, notably the position of “chief risk officer” (“CRO”) that has taken its...
Members of the audit committee must be prepared to spend a substantial amount of time in discharging their duties and obligations in relation to the company. For example, commentators are advising that audit committees should schedule full-day meetings on no less than a quarterly basis. ...
Compliance with laws and regulations applicable to the company’s business activities and identifying and managing the risks associated with those activities are two of the fundamental duties and obligations of the board of directors. The emergence of sustainability as a new factor for consideration in...
It is no secret that incentive elements of executive compensation arrangements have long been tied to financial performance and increasing shareholder value as demonstrated by improvements in share prices. Certainly financial success is important to the long-term viability of the business and provides the CEO...
A joint report published as a preliminary draft in February 2018 by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (“WBCSD”) included a telling comparison of the results of surveys conducted by the World Economic...