Housing, inequality directors’ main concerns
AUCKLAND: Inadequate housing and a growing tide of inequality are top of mind for directors both at home and abroad, a Global Network of Director Institutes survey shows.
About 80% of the 375 New Zealand directors surveyed say housing is one of the major economic and social issues they are concerned about. Sixtyseven percent are wrestling with issues of poverty and income inequality, according to the network’s first global director survey.
Those issues are being considered worldwide, the global survey showing 45% of directors are worried about poverty and inequality, and 34% see housing as a major issue.
New Zealand Institute of Directors chief executive Kirsten Patterson said things had moved on from the 1980sstyle shortterm focus on share price, and boardrooms were now assessing a broader array of issues and stakeholder interests that drove the longterm value of an entity.
‘‘The fact that these are global trends is indicating a significant market shift.’’
While those issues were expected to be of concern among notforprofit directors, they were showing up strongly in the commercial environment as well, she said.
The survey backs up recent steps across a number of forums. The NZX’s new governance code introduces principles on how to encompass nonfinancial measures, such as corporate social responsibility and environmental practices. The NZ Institute of Directors’ remuneration report also found the growing complexity of the boardroom was demanding more time of directors.
This week, SkyCity Entertainment Group acknowledged that shift in its notice of annual meeting. The casino operator wants to increase the pool of fees for directors, largely to reflect the increased time and greater complexity facing the chairman of the corporate social responsibility committee. Its annual report devotes 26 of 132 pages to corporate social responsibility.
Ms Patterson said this changing paradigm for directors had also fed into how appointments were made.
New Zealand directors were by and large upbeat about the economy, 51% confident in the growth prospects for their business, compared with 45% in the global survey.
Infrastructure was another concern for New Zealand directors at 56%. The cost of health care was seen as a key problem by 27% of respondents and tax and government spending by 21%.
New Zealand boards had slightly higher levels awareness of cyber risks relative to their global peers at 58%. They also identified big data and artificial intelligence as the top tech disruptions they were facing, each at 55%. — BusinessDesk