Asish K Bhattacharyya

For long it was considered that a company is collective of shareholders and, therefore, the best interest of shareholders is the best interest of the company

The board should immediately address the issue of succession for the CEO and other critical positions to ensure a seamless continuation of each critical function

Appointment of a lead independent director might be a better option than mandating separation of the positions of chairperson and MD/CEO

The one-size-fits-all approach adopted by the AICTE is not suitable for regulating business schools in India

Under the law, the chairperson of the board does not enjoy any special power, unless the Articles of Association confers casting vote

The auditing profession should consider whether some elements of forensic audit be included in audit procedures

Expropriation of shareholders' wealth cannot be detected by applying audit procedures

The current practice is that the lessee classifies leases into operating lease and finance lease

Strict enforcement of independent director's accountability for omission and commission of company drives away 'good' independent directors

Indian corporate governance reforms have kept pace with those in advanced nations, but the quality of corporate governance, in terms of compliance, has not improved

The moot question is whether all these measures will improve audit quality

In most family businesses, power is tilted towards controlling shareholder or management. So, the board is ineffective. This can't change soon

Regret comes from his displeasure that board failed to uphold culture, values he established

Employees, who are unable to acquire new skills, are losing jobs

The most important role of independent directors is to protect the interest of non-controlling shareholders

With hindsight, some strategic choices made by the Tata group appear to be wrong

Tendering is the right method to search for the right audit firm. This increases choice and reduces auditing cost through competition

The traditional mindset of focusing on shareholder value, financial information, quantitative data and hierarchical leadership style make adoption of integrated thinking difficult

Investors and other stakeholders are not so concerned about what happens within the board. They evaluate the quality of corporate governance by tracking signals

The management has an inherent temptation to filter audit reports before submitting those to the audit committee