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CPA 118 Module 4 总结一
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MODULE FOUR
Stakeholder Theory
这个理论是这个章节的一个总括,企业不能再仅仅考虑股东的利益,还需要考虑所有跟企业产生关联主题的需求。Under stakeholder theory, anorganisation is viewed as a nexus of contracts, both explicit and implicit,between the organisation and its various stakeholders。从Figure 4.1中可以看出,一个公司相关的stakeholders主要包括:agents, owners, suppliers/lenders, consumers, competitors, auditors,employees, regulators, government, community, and environment。
The Corporation
我们所熟知的公司的特性通常有:separate legal entity, limitedliability, & perpetual succession。
Agents
在H. L. Bolton (Engineering) Co. Ltd v. T. J. Graham & Sons [1957]
的case里面,法官Lord Denning identified thedifference between mere servants and agents compared with directors andmanagers. It explained how the law places liability on those。
Agencytheory的目的是为了解释因为企业(所有权和管理权分离)代理关系而产生的一系列行为。该理论建立与两个关键的假设:
1)
所有个体都是理性的、自私的个体,因此 where a potential conflict of interest existsbetween the principals and the agent, the agent will act in a way to maximisetheir own benefit;
2)
信息不对称理论,管理者agent比股东拥有更多的信息。
由于agent的这种自利性,agency theory提出了三种agency costs,分别为:bondingcosts, monitoring costs & residual costs。需要注意的是,这三种成本都不包括企业支付给管理者的薪酬,即remuneration。
Directors 在一般情况下需要被正式的任命,but the difficulty arises when a person acts asa director without being formally appointed。在大多数的司法体系里面采取“实质大于形式”的标准对谁作为directors进行判断,这表明了if a person acts as a director, this makes thema director。
在单一层次的董事会中,对于董事会结构的讨论主要集中在三个方面:
1)
the number and proportion ofindependent directors;
2)
the number and proportion ofnon-executive directors;
3)
whether the roles of CEO andchairman of the board should be separate.
其中第三点引起的争论很大,大家需要熟悉table 4.4里面,各种report对CEO/Chairman责任区分的建议。
Duties and Responsibilities of Directors
规定董事成员的责任和义务,是为了保护股东们的权益。这些责任包括:
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avoidconflicts of interest;
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actin the best interests of the corporation;
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retaindiscretionary powers and avoid delegating the director’s responsibility;
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exercisepowers for proper purposes; and
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actwith care, skill and diligence.
Insolvent Trading
Insolvent trading是跟duty of care 相关联的。在大多数立法中规定,directorsshould limit or avoid insolvent trading。这个规定可以认为是对股东负责,也可以看成是对现在/未来的债权者负责。虽然各国的法规对insolvent trading有不同的界定,general principles则为:
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beingaware of the financial situation;
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notbeing insolvent at the time a debt is incurred; and
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personalliability of directors for debts incurred after insolvency arises.
对于insolvent trading责任的defence,董事可以通过生病缺席,或者表明due diligence通过证明一下几点:
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thereare reasonable grounds to expect the company was solvent at the time when thedebt was incurred and would remain solvent;
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thereare reasonable grounds to believe that another person who was competent andreliable and responsible for providing adequate information, suppliedinformation that the company was solvent; and
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allreasonable steps were taken to prevent the company from incurring the debt。
Takeovers
当公司打算加快发展速度的时候,takeover通常是最快的选择之一,其好处包括:gaining cost reductions via eliminatingduplicated roles, increasing market size and power, diversifying operations,& combining skills from each organisation to produce more efficiently andeffectively, and also eliminating a competitor by absorbing it。
而这一行为因其所涉及的团体较多,所以受到了各国司法的较为严格的规定。Takeover 可能产生的道德问题通常包括:conflict of interests, lack of disclosure,& anti-trust and monopoly issues。
Insider Trading
由于所有权和管理权的分离,股东通常情况下得不到完整的信息,导致管理者有能力为自己的利益而进行内部交易。有效的金融市场运行是建立在市场有效性(efficiency)和投资者信心(investor confidence)的条件下,而内部交易则会降低投资者对市场的信心,因此对市场的长期发展有负面的作用。There is a need, therefore, tobalance efficiency with investor confidence and this is what theinsider-trading legislation attempts to deal with。
判断交易是否为内部交易,有两个重要的测试:
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ithas not been disclosed to the broader public; and
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isimportant enough to have a significant or material impact on the price ofsecurity.
Market Manipulation
A commoncharacteristic of market misconduct legislation is the law’s abhorrence ofconduct which creates a false or artificial impression of the true position inrelation to securities in a company.
通常情况下,如果该行为有公司董事会成员参与,那么他们的目的一般是虚高公司股票价格。比较常用的方法包括:churning, pools, runs andfundraising documents。
Ethical Obligations and Codes of Conduct
The AustralianInstitute of Company Directors’ Code of Conduct is an example of a code ofconduct for directors. 材料中列举AICD的十点要求需要熟悉。
另外,ASX的CG建议书中要求公司需要建立自己的一套道德准则。
Accountability
两种保证管理层问责的机制为年度报告(annual report)和股东大会(general meeting of shareholders)。
Enforcement and Remedies
材料中所列举的,公司可像管理层索取的赔偿都是来自于common law而非statutory law,包括:account forprofits, damages and compensation, injunction, declaration, restoration ofproperty, rescission, and statutory derivative actions。 |
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