Communications as a Governance Strategy

BDO in the Boardroom

Join BDO's Center for Corporate Governance Amy Rojik as she sits down with Amanda Shpiner, Managing Director at Gasthalter & Co. LP, to discuss considerations for board communications as part of an overall governance strategy in the face of numerous disruptions impacting the business.

Key Takeaways:

• Boards have the responsibility to continuously monitor vulnerabilities and hold management accountable to address these via strategy and consistent, transparent communications with stakeholders

• Communication to stakeholders needs to be thoughtful and clear – don’t underestimate the power of the varied traditional and social media channels, engagement and stakeholder polling – to differentiate from your industry peer set

• Just because you may not have a complete plan in place to address an issue, it should not hold you back from communicating objectives and your thinking on the actions to undertake to achieve them

• Activist positions are usually very well thought out with significant research and analysis behind them; company boards/management have day jobs and these fights can be extremely time consuming and expensive

• Activism is morphing from perceived “corporate raiders” to “engaged shareowners/investors” for investors who hold their positions for long periods with a mission to change companies for the better through policies and performance enhancements

• When faced with an activist challenge (e.g., 13D filing), speed of response is critical and requires a pre-planned approach based quality of continuous monitoring; you only have one chance to make a first impression to stakeholders

• Current target areas for activists: corporate governance and perceived entrenchment of the board; operating performance; innovation to remain relevant; ability to tie ESG factors to bottom line over the long term; and management of supply chain challenges