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1 Shareholder primacy: Is there a need for change? A discussion paper2 3 Governance Institute of Australia Governance Institute of Australia (Governance Institute) is the only independent professional association with a sole focus on the practice of governance. We provide the best education and support for practising chartered secretaries, governance advisers and risk managers to drive responsible performance in their organisations. Our postgraduate education in applied corporate governance and risk management is unrivalled in its breadth and depth of coverage. It sets the standard for entry into the profession. Postgraduate education is also the gateway to membership of the Governance Institute and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) leading international associations for governance practitioners. Our Certificates in Governance Practice, Governance and Risk Management and Governance for Not-for-Profits provide skills-based governance and risk management training, and a qualification for a wide range of professionals responsible for corporate accountability functions and processes within an organisation. Our active membership base of more than 7,000 chartered secretaries, governance advisers and risk managers ensures that the Governance Institute is at the cutting edge of knowledge of issues and support of sound practice in the continuous evolution of governance and risk management. Copyright Governance Institute of Australia Ltd, 2014 i4 Background Governance Institute convened the Governance Advisory Panel (the Panel) in The purpose of the Panel is to assist Governance Institute to influence the continuing development and direction of corporate governance policy and practice. Governance Institute s mission is to promote and advance the effective governance of organisations in the private and public sectors and we believe that the Panel will play a vital role in supporting that mission. Too often corporate governance changes in Australia have arisen as a reaction to corporate collapse or malfeasance on the part of those charged with fiduciary duties. However, Governance Institute believes that a better approach to sound corporate governance policy, direction and practice is to formulate ideas for improvements to corporate governance frameworks a proactive rather than a reactive approach. The Panel s objectives are to generate ideas and concepts that can be discussed and debated by all stakeholders. The Panel s aims are to foster frank and robust discussion about the future of governance and what could be done to drive improvements in policy and practices here and in other jurisdictions. Governance Advisory Panel members Professor Michael Adams FGIA Dean, School of Law, University of Western Sydney Mr Tony D Aloisio AM Mr Ray Finkelstein QC Queen s Counsel Ms Robyn Kruk AM Ms Jane McAloon FGIA Group Company Secretary, BHP Billiton Limited Mr Tim Sheehy FGIA Chief Executive, Governance Institute of Australia Mr Ian Silk Chief Executive, AustralianSuper Mr Lindsay Tanner (Chair) Ms Alison Watkins CEO, Coca-Cola Amatil Limited Project on shareholder primacy In 2013 the Panel recommended that Governance Institute should explore with stakeholders the issue of shareholder primacy, to assess how the shareholder primacy rule should be positioned in the 21st century and if greater certainty needs to be introduced to the operation of the law in this regard. Process Two Roundtables on the topic were held in November 2013, one in Melbourne and one in Sydney. Participants were provided with a framework for discussion, with the idea of stimulating debate. The framework did not assume any position, but set out different positions for discussion. The Roundtables were designed as the first step in a process to assess: How should the shareholder primacy rule be positioned in the 21st century? Should the explicit objectives of a company be solely about shareholders? Does the current law constrain a broader view of the best interests of the company? Do we need a wider view in law? Is greater certainty required as to the operation of the law in regard to shareholder primacy? Governance Institute assessed how best to progress the views put forth at the Roundtable in conjunction with its Governance Advisory Panel and it was agreed that a discussion paper would be issued for public comment. Discussion paper The discussion paper explores the means by which societal expectations in relation to moderating the influence of corporate activity on the community and environment can best be met. It examines the misalignment that is often experienced between societal expectation and the impact of corporate activity and poses the following questions: 1. Is there a view that there is no need for a change to the corporations law, as it currently allows directors to take account of the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders? ii5 2. Is there a need for a change to the corporations law, and should the equivalent of s 172 in the UK (permissive clause) be introduced to expand directors duties so that they should have regard to the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders in promoting the best interests of the company? 3. Is there a need for a change to the corporations law, and should an explicit clause be introduced to expand directors duties so that they must take account of the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders? 4. Is there a role for the government to play in protecting the interests of stakeholders not through amendment to the corporations law, but through other forms of social policy? These are options for consideration. There may be other options not canvassed in the discussion paper. The Panel and Governance Institute are not embarking on this project with any fixed views in mind nor any desired outcome other than to provide greater clarity for all stakeholders as to the role of shareholder primacy in corporate law and governance. Acknowledgements Governance Institute thanks the following participants in the roundtables whose input and contribution to the discussion paper have been invaluable. Professor Michael Adams, Dean, School of Law, University of Western Sydney Tony D Aloisio, non-executive director, non-executive director, IRESS Ltd; Chairman ASIC Dr Leeora Black, Managing Director, Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility David Bradbury, Assistant Treasurer and Minister Assisting for Deregulation, ; Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Priscilla Bryans, Partner, Freehills Ann Byrne, non-executive director, Oxfam; Chief Executive, Australian Council of Superannuation Investors Professor Thomas Clarke, Centre for Corporate Governance, University of Technology, Sydney Michael Crosby, National President, United Voice Quentin Digby, Partner, Freehills Ray Finkelstein QC Belinda Gibson, Commissioner and Deputy Chairman, ASIC Douglas Gration, Barrister-at-law Charles Macek, non-executive director, Wesfarmers Ltd and Federation Ltd Eric Mayne, Chairman, ASX Corporate Governance Council and Head of Supervision, ASX Steven Munchenberg, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Bankers Association Miranda Nagy, Special Counsel, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers Sydney; non-executive director, The Sunrise Project Professor Ian Ramsay, Centre for Corporate Law and Regulation, University of Melbourne Elana Rubin, non-executive director, Mirvac Group Ltd Rosemary Sainty, School of Management, University of Technology, Sydney; formerly head secretariat for the United Nations Global Compact Network Australia Catherine Walter AM, non-executive director, Australian Foundation Investment Company Ltd. Governance Institute of Australia Shareholder primacy: Is there a need for change? iii6 Request for submissions Governance Institute of Australia welcomes submissions on all of the matters raised in the discussion paper and also on any further issues related to those matters that are not canvassed in the material. Please send submissions either by to or in hardcopy to: Judith Fox National Director, Policy & Publishing Governance Institute of Australia GPO Box 1594 Sydney NSW 2001 If sending a hardcopy, please also your submission as a Microsoft Word file. Any queries may be directed to Judith Fox at or on (02) Closing date for submissions Please forward submissions by Friday, 5 December iv7 Table of contents Introduction 1 Executive summary 3 Part 1: Shareholder primacy at law 5 What is shareholder primacy? 5 Shareholder primacy is not enshrined in law 5 Development of shareholder primacy 6 Inquiries into directors duties at law in relation to stakeholders other 7 than shareholders Why is this still an issue? 8 How directors view their duty of acting in the best interests 9 of the corporation Shareholders as owners: a concept underpinning corporate governance 9 The link with agency theory 10 Concerns with shareholder primacy theory as a guiding principle in 11 corporate governance Part 2: Should stakeholder interests be dealt within 13 corporations law or by social policy intervention? Possible approaches to ensuring stakeholder interests are taken 13 into account Examples of misalignment between societal expectations of the role of 15 companies and what companies expect to do to generate wealth Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and coal mines 15 Tax 15 Employment in and future of rural towns 16 Poker machines 16 Obesity 17 Retention of particular skills in the country 17 Purchasing power of corporations 17 Providing credit to small business 18 Impact of plastic beverage containers on the environment 18 Examples of different approaches to ensuring stakeholder interests 18 are taken into account Permissive clause in directors duties 18 Explicit clause in directors duties 19 Other forms of legislative intervention 19 Other forms of social policy 20 Governance Institute of Australia Shareholder primacy: Is there a need for change? v8 Arguments for and against amending the corporations law to provide 21 for directors to take account of the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders A permissive clause 21 The UK permissive clause 22 Opposition to a broader view in law 22 Part 3: What are the societal expectations of 23 the corporation? Social expectations of the corporation 23 What is the role of government in deciding the social expectations 24 of the corporation? Public policy 25 Part 4: Is there a need for change? There is no need for a change to the corporations law 2. There is a need for a change to the corporations law and the equivalent of s 172 in the UK s 172 (permissive clause) should be introduced to expand directors duties so that they should have regard to the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders in promoting the best interests of the company 3. There is a need for a change to the corporations law and an explicit clause should be introduced to expand directors duties so that they must take account of the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders 4. There is a role for the government to play in protecting the interests of stakeholders, but not through amendment to the corporations law. vi9 Introduction As it stands, the law generally links the corporate interests to those of the shareholders, and only derivatively with those of the community, consumers, employees and other stakeholders. Nonetheless, a flourishing debate on corporate responsibility has promoted the idea that corporate management should take into account interests beyond the corporation s formal legal constituents, to that group known as stakeholders employees, suppliers, distributors, consumers, creditors, government and the community. Society and investors have a commonality of interests it is in no one s interests for our corporations to fail. Our economic development benefits from entrepreneurial companies that can be financed, and where investors are rewarded for the risks they take in providing that capital. This allows companies to expand, and generate jobs and wealth for investors and society as a whole. This commonality of interests is extended by the fact that all working Australians are also shareholders through compulsory superannuation. Yet many have questioned whether the law and community expectations sufficiently coincide, given that the law generally only derivatively links the corporate interests to those of stakeholders other than shareholders. And many have argued that only a change to directors duties will ensure an alignment between the law and community expectations. The argument is that a change to directors duties is essential to ensure that companies maintain their social licence to operate. These questions were examined in two inquiries almost ten years ago: one inquiry was conducted by the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC); the second was undertaken by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services (PJC) and both reported in Yet the debate as to whether the corporations law should change to have directors take account of stakeholders other than shareholders has not abated. The patterns that were emerging at the time of both reports in relation to the impact of corporate activity on the community and the environment have since become mainstream preoccupations. Heightening the focus on this issue is a number of other intersecting issues. Governments have been exiting from analysis of the social impacts of support for particular industries and concentrating on the economic impacts; sustainability issues and concerns about who bears the costs of the externalities of corporate activity are more acute than they were in the first ten years of the century; cross-border issues are more acute, which has put pressure on activities such as outsourcing; and corporations are now subject to increasingly intensified scrutiny both from investors and the public at large, with social media providing platforms for debate on corporate activity in a manner that was not feasible even a decade ago. The term social licence to operate now has prominence in a manner that it did not at the time of the CAMAC and PJC reports. The corporate social licence to operate has been described as stakeholder perception of the legitimacy of a company. As one commentator recently explained, The term social licence draws attention to the difference between a legal permit and the social acceptance or legitimacy that is essential for companies to be able to survive, prosper and ultimately be part of communities that advocate for and support [their] interests. 1 The concept of the social licence to operate includes but is not limited to: environmental performance local communities and regulators are often concerned about issues such as air and water pollution, water extraction, impacts on biodiversity and waste management ethical business conduct and transparency trust in companies is easily eroded if there is a perception of dishonest dealings or inappropriate collusion workers rights and safety failure to ensure that safety incidents do not occur can have a negative impact on corporate reputation community relationships community issues can delay or even prevent projects from proceeding. Issues include disputes over land access and ownership and equitable sharing of benefits from corporate activity. 1 Black, L, Your social licence to operate: risk protection through sustainable community development, Governance Directions, Vol 66 No 1, February 2014 Governance Institute of Australia Shareholder primacy: Is there a need for change? 110 Despite the prevalence of the use of the term social licence to operate, the law does not contain an explicit statement of either the societal purpose of companies or what the interests of the corporation are. The debate about whether shareholder primacy should be retained or stakeholder interests become equally privileged is in effect a debate on those two matters. Importantly, these are not academic issues. Each day, corporations in Australia and their directors have to deal with community expectations that they are accountable for the common good: Rural communities want the protection of aquifers and the preservation of agricultural land to take precedence over corporate interest in seeking to access coal seam gas or mining such land. Small rural communities want industries that provide a significant proportion of local employment to remain in place even if they are considered economically unprofitable for the company. Communities want to see banks provide loans to small businesses, as a public good, regardless of whether it would affect shareholder return negatively in particular economic conditions. What is the societal expectation of a corporation? The corporation plays a vital role in a free market economy does this itself suggest that its role needs to be broader? For whose benefit and at whose expense should the corporation be managed? Should stakeholders participate in determining the future direction of the corporation in which they have a stake, even if they do not provide capital? What would be the consequences of any change to capital allocation if this were the case? Are social constraints a matter for the corporation or the role of government? The evidence available suggests that the decision makers in many companies in Australia are already having regard to the interests of stakeholders and regard these interests as integral to their business. At law, directors must already balance the interests of shareholders with their responsibilities under specific statutes regarding workplace health and safety, environmental impact and trade practices. With companies arguing that they already take a broader view of what is in the best interests of the corporation, and that they do not operate exclusively in the interests of shareholders, does the current law constrain this broader view of the best interests of the corporation? Do we need a wider view in law? Or are the issues broader than any that a corporate law provision can address and ones for social policy intervention? Is determining the societal expectation of a corporation a role for government rather than a matter for directors to determine? Gaining clarity as to how to respond to these questions ultimately goes to decisions concerning our corporate regulatory framework. Governance Institute is of the view, therefore, that it is important to test the arguments. Only through such a process can we illuminate whether stakeholder interests should be addressed through an expansion of directors duties or through social policy intervention. This discussion paper therefore explores the means by which societal expectations in relation to moderating the influence of corporate activity on the community and environment can best be met. It does this by: canvassing the law as it currently stands examining the link between corporate governance and the debate on whether shareholders interests should take precedence over stakeholder interests or whether they can coincide providing real-life examples of where misalignment exists between societal expectations and the impact of corporate activity on stakeholder interests exploring different approaches to ensuring that companies maintain their social licence to operate asking what the societal expectation is of a corporation. A fundamental question arises that needs to be considered and decided: Should decisions concerning further social constraints of the corporation be the role of directors or the role of government? 211 Executive summary The shareholder primacy view holds that the overriding goal of the corporation is to maximise shareholder value. Economists and market participants have also favoured shareholder primacy, viewing it as the key to the capital system, and this view is deeply entrenched in markets worldwide. The Corporations Act 2001 does not state that directors and other officers must exercise their powers and discharge their duties in the best interests of shareholders, although case law has tended to grant primacy to shareholders interests. The legislation states that directors have a duty to act in the best interests of the company, which generally coincide with the best interests of shareholders. A mapping of corporate law in multiple jurisdictions found that no system of corporations legislation requires directors to act in the best interests of shareholders only. The primary philosophy driving the modern corporate governance movement and much of the reforms undertaken to the Corporations Act in recent years has been investor protection. The ideas of directors as agents of shareholders and shareholders as owners of the company are central to prevailing conceptions of corporate governance. The argument against a shareholder primacy approach is that it is a corporate governance model that puts the private interest ahead of the public interest. This is therefore a key governance issue. In the past decade in Australia, two major inquiries have been conducted into the legal capacity of directors to take into account the interests of stakeholders (other than shareholders), including employees, creditors, suppliers, distributors, consumers, government, the environment and the community at large. Both inquiries concluded that no compelling case for change to directors duties in the corporations law was presented. Despite these findings, the debate as to whether the corporations law should change to have directors take account of stakeholders other than shareholders has not abated. The corporate social licence to operate is seen to be under pressure due to a misalignment of societal expectations about the role of companies and the way in which they should conduct their affairs, and the social and environmental impacts of corporate activity designed to generate wealth. Importantly, these are not academic issues. Each day, corporations in Australia and their directors have to deal with community expectations that they are accountable for the common good. Examples of issues which make this a matter that requires resolution include: - fracking and coal mines companies will seek to access and exploit coal seam gas or propose new coal mines to maximise value for shareholders. However, rural communities wish to protect groundwater resources like the Great Artesian Basin and productive agricultural land against coal seam gas and coal mine development, due to concerns about the contamination of water resources and the sacrifice of viable farmlands. - tax companies will seek to minimise tax payments to maximise value for shareholders. However, communities are of the view that corporations should pay for the many years of employee productivity, and use of public infrastructure and public research that assisted in building their industries, and that companies should therefore pay full taxation. - employment in and future of rural towns it is not unusual for industry changes to see a company closing down a business in a rural town when it is no longer profitable, even if that business is central to the town s identity and provides a high level of employment. However, the local townspeople are frequently of the view that the company had a geographically-based business need from which it profited, and therefore the company has a responsibility for the negative impacts of its departure, which can include contracting communities, and loss of property value and then population as people move to find work elsewhere. - poker machines profit from poker machines is in the hundreds of millions each year for those companies involved in the industry. The community is critical of the fact that much of the profit derives directly from problem gamblers, and from a concentration of its machines in low-income areas, which sees people who are most disadvantaged being targeted for corporate profit. Governance Institute of Australia Shareholder primacy: Is there a need for change? 312 - obesity all big food companies are working hard to sell more products to more of the world. Many unhealthy products are very profitable. However, as populations become more aware of the risk of diabetes and obesity, the community is suggesting that the companies producing foods and drinks with high levels of sugar should be held accountable for their role in making such product available and investing heavily in product marketing, particularly to children. - retention of particular skills in the country certain industries seek to contain costs by outsourcing particular jobs to other countries, where wages are lower than in Australia. However, many in the community are of the view that such skills should be retained in Australia and that certain industries should put the employment needs of the country before profits. - purchasing power of corporations this can drive down prices (for example, $1 loaf of bread) but has an impact on other industries (bakers). Communities are increasingly critical of vertical integration, not only because of the price squeezing of suppliers, but also because of negative impacts on local communities where independent businesses are forced to close and are asking if it is economically healthy for a few companies to own the entire supply chain. - providing credit to small business banks may curtail the provision of credit to small business if such loans are seen to be unsustainable, and tighten their lending policies in light of changing economic conditions, which is good for shareholder returns. Banks will note that there is a balancing act between access and responsible lending. However, small businesses, which provide the majority of employment in Australia, generally say that it is precisely during changing economic conditions, particularly challenging ones, when lending to small business needs to at least be stable, if not expanding. They note that, after the global financial crisis, banks were slow to provide credit to small businesses and that this had an effect on the economy generally. - impact of plastic beverage containers on the environment companies that produce drinks in bottles and cans seek to contain production costs for the benefit of shareholders, and oppose container deposit schemes (CDS), which introduce a 10-cent refund on drink containers, with costs passed on to the beverage industry. However, communities argue that CDS will lift recycling, cut litter, and provide fundraising opportunities for local community groups and charities. Despite the prevalence of the use of the term social licence to operate, the law does not contain an explicit statement of either the societal purpose of companies or what the interests of the corporation are. The debate about whether shareholder primacy should be retained or stakeholder interests become equally privileged is in effect a debate on those two matters. Options for ensuring stakeholder interests are taken into account are: - An amendment could be introduced to the corporations law (s 181), which would permit directors to have regard to the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders. - Alternatively, an amendment could be introduced to the corporations law, which would compel directors to have regard to the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders. - Other forms of legislative intervention outside of the corporations law could be sought from the government, which would protect the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders. - Other forms of social policy intervention from the government could be implemented. Governments can build confidence and public trust and reduce uncertainty by creating policies and regulatory settings or putting in place other mechanisms that meet societal expectations concerning the costs attached to commercial activity when those costs are balanced against the financial benefits that flow from corporate endeavour. Deciding which approach to take is central to how we conceive and implement the settings for the regulation of corporations. 413 Part 1: Shareholder primacy at law What is shareholder primacy? The shareholder primacy view holds that the overriding goal of the corporation is to maximise shareholder value. The acceptance that a corporation s sole reason for existence is to make money for its shareholders can be traced to an influential debate between two eminent academics in a series of articles published in the Harvard Law Review in On the side of shareholder primacy stood Professor Adolph A Berle, who argued that: all powers granted to a corporation or to the management of a corporation, or to any group within the corporation [are] at all times exercisable only for the ratable benefit of all the shareholders as their interest appears. 2 This view was expounded again strongly in the 1970s by Professor Milton Friedman, who argued that, There is one and only one social responsibility of business: to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits. 3 In 1932, Professor Merrick Dodd disagreed vehemently with Berle s shareholder primacy thesis. He argued for a view of the business corporation as an economic institution which has a social service as well as a profit-making function. 4 This has become known as the stakeholder approach to the corporation. In general, the influence of shareholders has tended to an uncritical push for profit-maximisation, which has been supported by company law giving primacy to shareholders interests. Economists and market participants have also favoured shareholder primacy, viewing it as the key to the capital system, and this view is deeply entrenched in markets worldwide. Companies are seen to have three sources of capital: earnings, debt and equity. It is considered that it would be difficult for companies to rely increasingly on earnings or debt rather than equity, which in turn privileges equity holders. Equity holders are viewed as needing protection, or they will no longer invest and the economy will at best stagnate and at worst contract or flounder. 5 In terms of the board seeking to attract capital, it is acknowledged that the shareholder primacy rule has been successful. Shareholder primacy is not enshrined in law In Australia, the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) states, in s 181(1), that: A director or other office of a corporation must exercise their powers and discharge their duties: (a) in good faith in the best interests of the corporation; and (b) for a proper purpose. It is important to clarify that the legislation does not state that directors and other officers must exercise their powers and discharge their duties in the best interests of shareholders, although case law has tended to grant primacy to shareholders interests. The legislation foregrounds the best interests of the corporation, which generally coincide with the best interests of shareholders. Equally of note is that the duties of directors are owed to the company they are not considered public in nature. 6 It has been pointed out that shareholder primacy is a social norm rather than law. As noted in a project being undertaken by a multi-jurisdictional team of legal academics, This norm springs out of the historically contingent focus of company law on the position of 2 Berle, A, Corporate Powers as Powers in Trust, 44 Harvard. Law Review, 1049, Friedman, M, The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, New York Times, 13 September, Dodd, EM, For Whom Are Corporate Managers Trustees?,45 Harvard Law Review, 1145, 1148, Elson, C, Five Reasons to Support Shareholder Primacy, April 15, Ailakis v Olivero (No 2) [2014] WASCA 127. An extract from the case states that It is clear that the duties of a director have a number of sources, including common law, equity and statute. However, the fact that the scope of a director s duties, and the standards which must be met in the discharge of those duties, are embodied in a statute and can be enforced by the exercise of the remedies conferred by a statute does not of itself mean that the duties have a public character, analogous, for example, to the duty to attend court in answer to a subpoena... or the duty to care for a dependent child... The duties of a director are owed to the company and are enforceable by the company. Governance Institute of Australia Shareholder primacy: Is there a need for change? 514 shareholders (albeit one that varies across jurisdictions). Shareholder primacy has been allowed to develop because the law contains neither an explicit statement of what the societal purpose of companies is, nor of what the interests of the corporation are. 7 Development of shareholder primacy In 1919, the Michigan Supreme Court s decision in the case of Dodge v Ford Motor Corp is said to have manifested the legal mandate of the shareholder primacy theory. The court stated: A business corporation is organised and carried on primarily for the profit of the stockholders. 8 Importantly, in this case, the decision held that the primary duty was to shareholders rather than the community as a whole or employees. Despite the stark nature of the pronouncement in this judgment, legal commentators note that Dodge does not stand for the proposition that courts will closely supervise the conduct of corporate directors to ensure that every decision maximises shareholder wealth. courts generally will not substitute their judgment for that of the board of directors. If a proposed course of action plausibly relates to long-term shareholder wealth maximisation, courts will not intervene. 9 In one of its reviews of corporate law, CAMAC examined the case law to ascertain if the interests of the corporation were construed to be those of shareholders. It noted that the phrase the interests of the corporation as a whole under the common law of directors duties means the financial wellbeing of the shareholders as a general body. The overriding test is the wellbeing of the corporation and therefore the shareholders generally. 10 However, not all case law grants primacy to shareholders interests. Justice Owen has observed: 11 This does not mean that the general body of shareholders is always and for all purposes the embodiment of the corporation as a whole. It will depend on the context, including the type of corporation and the nature of the impugned activity or decision. And it may also depend on whether the corporation is a thriving ongoing entity or whether its continued existence is problematic. In my view, the interests of shareholders and the corporation may be seen as correlative not because the shareholders are the corporation but, rather, because the interests of the corporation and the interests of the shareholders intersect It is, in my view, incorrect to read the phrase acting in the best interests of the corporation and acting in the best interests of the shareholders as if they meant exactly the same thing it is almost axiomatic to say that the content of the duty may (and usually will) include a consideration of the interests of shareholders. But it does not follow that in determining the content of the duty to act in the interests of the corporation, the concerns of shareholders are the only ones to which attention need be directed or that the legitimate interests of other groups can safely be ignored. Insolvency was a feature of this case, which saw Justice Owen pay particular attention to the needs of creditors, but his findings have import beyond the context of insolvency. A recent Australian academic paper summarised the current position in corporate law in this jurisdiction as: 12 First, as a general proposition, acting in the best interests of the company generally means acting in the interests of shareholders as a general body. The directors are able, but not required, to consider the interests of non-shareholder stakeholders, and where they do, such consideration needs to be done with a view to the benefit of the shareholders. 7 Sjåfjell, B, Johnston, A, and Sørensen, L-A, News release, Shareholder Primacy: The Main Barrier to Sustainable Companies, 2014, p 2, no/ifp/english/research/projects/sustainable-companies/news/sustainablecompanies2pagesummarycompanylaw.pdf. The Sustainable Companies Project commenced in 2010 and has involved a team of more than 40 legal scholars mapping the law in 26 jurisdictions across the globe. Presentation of reform proposals and completion of publications is expected in Dodge v Ford Motor Company, 170 N.W. 668 (Mich. 1919) 9 Professor Bainbridge s Journal of Law, Politics and Culture at Case law on the fiduciary duty of directors to maximise the wealth of corporate shareholders can be found at 10 Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee, The Social Responsibility of Corporations, Report, December 2006, p The Bell Group Ltd (in liq) v Westpac Banking Corporation [No 9] (2008) 39 WAR 1 12 Marshall, S and Ramsay, I, Stakeholders and directors duties: Law, theory and evidence, UNSW Law Journal Vol 35(1), 2012, p 291 615 However, in some circumstances, directors can consider the interests of non-shareholder stakeholders without there being any derivative benefit for shareholders. The only such situation that courts have clearly identified is where the company is insolvent or is close to insolvency or some contemplated transaction threatens the solvency of the company. Second, in an insolvency context, there is an obligation on directors to take into account the interests of creditors. Finally, the only situation where the courts have clearly identified that the interests of non-shareholder stakeholders can be given higher priority by directors than the interests of shareholders is where the company is insolvent or is close to insolvency, or some contemplated transaction threatens the solvency of the company. The global project that has mapped company law in 26 jurisdictions notes that No system of corporation law insists that boards should focus only on shareholder value. 13 Inquiries into directors duties at law in relation to stakeholders other than shareholders In the past decade in Australia, two major inquiries have been conducted into the legal capacity of directors to adopt a broader set of interests in pursuing corporate strategy. 14 That broader set of interests is called stakeholders (other than shareholders), and is constituted of those with a stake in the corporation, including employees, creditors, suppliers, distributors, consumers, government, the environment and the community at large. One inquiry was conducted by the PJC, which issued its report, Corporate Responsibility: Managing Risk and Creating Value, in June The other was undertaken by CAMAC, which published its report, The Social Responsibility of Corporations, in December of the same year. The public debate in both inquiries revolved around whether a permissive clause (permitting directors to take account of the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders), or a positive clause (requiring directors to take account of the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders) is needed in the Corporations Act. Both inquiries noted the array of legislation and standards that currently exists regulating the centrality of stakeholder concerns in corporate decision making. 15 Both inquiries also concluded that no compelling case for a change to directors duties in the corporations law was presented. CAMAC took the view that the current common law and statutory requirements on directors and others to act in the interests of their companies are sufficiently broad to enable corporate decision-makers to take into account the environmental and other social impacts of their decisions, including changes in societal expectations about the role of companies and how they should conduct their affairs. 16 It rejected proposals for changes to the Corporations Act, concluding that directors have considerable discretion over the factors they may choose to take into account in determining what will benefit the company. Although there may be no direct legal obligation in company law to take the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders into account (compared to statutes dealing with other areas of the law), this does not preclude directors from choosing to do so Sjåfjell, B, Johnston, A, and Sørensen, L-A, News release, Shareholder Primacy: The Main Barrier to Sustainable Companies, 2014, p 2, no/ifp/english/research/projects/sustainable-companies/news/sustainablecompanies2pagesummarycompanylaw.pdf 14 Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, Corporate Responsibility: Managing Risk and Creating Value, June 2006, Canberra; Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee, The Social Responsibility of Corporations, Report, December 2006, Ch 3 15 For example, companies are subject to various state-based environmental legislation s 299(1)(f), requires companies to report on environmental performance; companies are subject to legislation regulating relationships with employees and workplace health and safety (WH&S) standards, both at the state and federal levels; consumers are protected under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the tort of negligence enables an individual to sue a corporation for a civil wrong caused by the actions of the corporation; corporations are subject to financial services and taxation legislation at the federal and state levels; and numerous voluntary codes of practice exist, such as the Minerals Industry Code, the AusBiotech and ASX Code of Best Practice for Reporting by Life Science Companies, the United Nations Global Compact, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights for the Extractive and Energy Sectors. 16 Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee, The Social Responsibility of Corporations, Report, December 2006, p Ibid at 82 and 86 Governance Institute of Australia Shareholder primacy: Is there a need for change? 716 The CAMAC report in effect restated shareholder primacy as it affirmed that directors can have regard to the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders in so far as it is in the interests of shareholders to do so. The PJC arrived at the same conclusion that directors duties were sufficiently broad to enable the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders to be taken into account, and also recognised that the interests of shareholders needed to be a clear priority in decision making. However, the PJC was not in accord with CAMAC as to whether shareholders ranked first in any interpretation of directors duties. 18 It stated its view that the best interests of the company and the best interests of the shareholders do not automatically have the same meaning. This view is more aligned with that expressed by Justice Owen s in the judgment quoted above. It is also more aligned with what are called stakeholder inclusivity approaches to the corporation as it affirms that the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders should be taken into account as it is to the benefit of the corporation to do so. The PJC used the term enlightened self-interest in relation to directors duties. It stated that: Under this interpretation directors may consider and act upon the legitimate interests of stakeholders to the extent that these interests are relevant to the company The committee considers that the most appropriate perspective for directors to take is that of enlightened self-interest. Companies and their directors should act in a socially and environmentally responsible manner at least in part because such conduct is likely to lead to the long term growth of their enterprise. 19 In summary, CAMAC posited that stakeholders can be considered if they are instrumental in benefiting shareholders and the PJC posited that stakeholders can be considered without necessarily linking to shareholder benefit. Why is this still an issue? Despite the findings of the CAMAC and PJC reports that there is no compelling case for a change to directors duties, the debate as to whether the corporations law should change to have directors take account of stakeholders other than shareholders has not abated. Critics argue that the external costs of the corporation such as the cost to various communities or the natural environment are opportunistically passed to society at large while shareholders benefit from increased wealth. These matters have become more rather than less pressing with the passage of time, as more voices from different sections of society engage in efforts to place restraints on corporate activity. Heightened public scrutiny of corporate activity, aided by social media channels, and increased concern about the sustainability of the environment and the negative impacts of corporate activity on particular segments of the community have added to the agitation for changes to directors duties. Critics of Australian law refer frequently to s 172(1) of the Companies Act 2006 in the United Kingdom (UK), which provides that the interests of non-shareholder groups need to be considered by directors but only to the extent that such consideration promotes the interests of shareholders. Reference is also made to the United States, where corporate constituency provisions were introduced some decades ago. As noted in the CAMAC report 20 : Statutes in a number of US states expressly permit directors to take into account the interests of various non-shareholder groups or broader community considerations in their decision-making, These corporate constituency provisions, first introduced in the 1980s, are found in a majority of states (though not including Delaware, where many large US companies are incorporated). They were primarily intended to assist directors to defend against hostile takeover bids that were seen as detrimental to various non-shareholder groups, including employees, or to local state communities. The 18 Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, Corporate Responsibility: Managing Risk and Creating Value: Report, June Ibid at Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee, The Social Responsibility of Corporations, Report, December 2006, pp The footnote on p 100 notes that: For a useful summary of the US state statutes, see K Hale, Corporate Law and Stakeholders: Moving Beyond Stakeholder Statutes (2003) 45 Arizona Law Review 823 817 corporate constituency statutes typically adopt a permissive pluralism approach by allowing, but not requiring, corporate decision-makers to consider the broader constituency. Approximately half of the statutes are confined to takeover or other change of control situations, while the remaining statutes are not so limited. The argument therefore continues to be prosecuted that an elaboration of interests that the directors could take into account would not only improve the quality of corporate decision-making as various interests are weighed, prioritised or reconciled, but also assist in aligning corporate behaviour with changing community expectations. Above all, the community is clear that someone needs to be accountable for the provision of the common good, and with the expanding power of multinational corporations and the perceived diminution in the role of governments in the economy, attention turns again and again to directors as those who should be held responsible for moderating the negative impacts of corporate activity. How directors view their duty of acting in the best interests of the corporation In 2012, a survey of Australian directors concerning the way they perceive their obligations to various stakeholders was undertaken and compared to the findings of the CAMAC and PJC inquiries 21, which provides insight into practice. The results show that directors view shareholders as a stakeholder group and accord them the highest priority. However, none of the survey group 22 : equated the best interests of the corporation with the short-term interests of shareholders alone, and only a very small proportion of directors (6.6 per cent) equated the best interests of the corporation with the best interests of shareholders in the long term. A significant proportion (38.2 per cent) equated the best interests of the corporation with the interests of all stakeholders as a means to achieving the long-term interests of shareholders. Perhaps surprisingly, the majority of directors (55 per cent) understood acting in the best interests of the corporation as requiring them to balance all stakeholder interests as an end in itself. Similarly, an overwhelming majority (94.3 per cent) of directors believed that the law of directors duties was broad enough to allow them to take into account the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders. Consequently, it would seem to be the case that where the shareholder primacy norm is influential, its influence does not stem from an understanding by directors that they are under a legal obligation to pursue shareholder-oriented strategies. Shareholders as owners: a concept underpinning corporate governance Although company law does not speak of shareholders as owners of companies, it does recognise that shareholders have proprietorial interests in the corporation. This underpins the notion of the separation of ownership and control that is a basic premise of company law. Those in favour of shareholder primacy argue that shareholders can be identified as beneficial owners because they exercise control rights, and give control power to directors, who are in charge of the day-to-day business of the corporation. Their control rights include the power to elect and remove the directors and to vote on certain essential matters concerning the operation of the corporation, such as the scope of business. Given that directors are elected by shareholders, directors are regarded as the elected representatives of shareholders and owe a fiduciary duty to them. As a result, in this view, shareholders are entitled to have the corporation run in their interests: it is their company. The primary philosophy driving the modern corporate governance movement and much of the reforms undertaken to the Corporations Act in recent years have been investor protection. Corporate governance reform has centred on providing greater accountability of boards and management to shareholders. Implicit in both corporate governance and legal reform is the notion of shareholder primacy the concept that in ordinary circumstances, boards of directors owe their primary fiduciary duty to shareholders. 21 Marshall, S and Ramsay, I Stakeholders and directors duties: Law, theory and evidence, UNSW Law Journal, Vo 35(1), Anderson, M, Jones, M, Marshall, S and Mitchell, R, Evaluating the shareholder primacy theory: Evidence from a survey of Australian directors, unimelb.edu.au/files/dmfile/evaluating_the_shareholder_primacy_theory_- evidence_from_a_survey_of_australian_directors 20_11_07_11.pdf, p 10 Governance Institute of Australia Shareholder primacy: Is there a need for change? 918 This can at times be stated explicitly, as in the report of the UK Hampel Committee on Corporate Governance, which contains the following 23 : 1.16 The single overriding objective shared by all listed companies, whatever their size or type of business, is the preservation and the greatest practicable enhancement over time of their shareholders investment. AII boards have this responsibility and their policies, structure, composition and governing processes should reflect this. In corporate governance discussions, the principle that shareholders own the company and directors run it on their behalf has found its way into influential reports such as that from the Cadbury Committee of the UK, which noted 24 : 6.1 The formal relationship between the shareholders and the board of directors is that the shareholders elect the directors, the directors report on their stewardship to the shareholders and the shareholders appoint the auditors to provide an external check on the directors financial statements. Thus the shareholders as owners of the company elect the directors to run the business on their behalf and hold them accountable for its progress. The issue for corporate governance is how to strengthen the accountability of boards of directors to shareholders. Economic models, which influence policy (as well as the media which also extends influence) tend to posit shareholders as owners of companies and point to the success of this model as the underpinning of the doctrine of western capitalism. These views are strongly supported in the corporate governance literature, and in governance codes in Commonwealth jurisdictions. Accountability is central to corporate governance frameworks, and that accountability is viewed in general as accountability to shareholders. As also noted in the report of the UK Hampel Committee on Corporate Governance 25 : 1.17 the directors are responsible for relations with the stakeholders; but they are accountable to the shareholders. This is not simply a technical point. From a practical point of view, to redefine the directors responsibilities in terms of the stakeholders would mean identifying the various stakeholder groups; and deciding the nature and extent of the directors responsibility to each. That result would be that the directors were not effectively accountable to anyone since there would be no clear yardstick for judging their performance. This is a recipe neither for good governance nor for corporate success. The link with agency theory Agency theory posits the corporation as a nexus of contracts where each party seeks to maximise their position. In this view, the corporation is an association of individuals the nexus of contracts establishes the rights and obligations among the different parties: shareholders, creditors, employees and suppliers. The relationships between shareholders and the directors and corporate managers are therefore those of a principal/ agent contract. Directors and the executives they oversee are agents for the shareholders, and therefore have an obligation to manage the corporation in the interests of the shareholders who are the principals. This view has considerable traction in corporate governance, with much guidance on the governing role of directors positioning them as the agents of their shareholders. Principles-based corporate governance codes in Australia, the UK and various other Commonwealth jurisdictions are focused on what is known as the principal agent problem, which concerns the difficulties in motivating the agent to act in the best interests of the principal rather than in their own interests. The governance guidelines are addressed to the problem of asymmetric information, where the agent has more information, such that the principal cannot directly ensure that the agent is always acting in the principal s best interests. The overarching aim of the governance guidelines in various jurisdictions is to lead the corporation s decision-makers to focus on the shareholders interests 23 Committee on Corporate Governance, Final Report, (known as the Hampel Report), The Committee on Corporate Governance and Gee Publishing Ltd, January 1998, p Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance (known as the Cadbury Committee), Report of the Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance (known as the Cadbury Report), 1 December 1992 (page numbers not available), 25 Committee on Corporate Governance, Final Report, (known as the Hampel Report), The Committee on Corporate Governance and Gee Publishing Ltd, January1998, p 12 1019 and implement governance frameworks that confirm that directors are the delegates of shareholders and accountable to them as the owners of the company. Agency theory thus is central in the conception of shareholders as owners of the corporation and central to prevailing conceptions of corporate governance. Concerns with shareholder primacy theory as a guiding principle in corporate governance Concern has been expressed over decades with the shareholder primacy view. The argument against it stems from Professor Dodd s thesis that the proper purpose of the corporation (and the proper goal of corporate managers) is not confined to making money for shareholders, but also includes more secure jobs for employees, better quality products for consumers, and greater contributions to the welfare of the community as a whole. This position argues against the idea that shareholders should have a privileged position. The argument against a shareholder primacy approach is that it is a corporate governance model that puts the private interest ahead of the public interest. Commentators have noted that in the shareholder primacy view the interests of shareholders are considered paramount by directors, over and above those of other stakeholders, such as employees. At its most extreme, this perspective suggests that directors will tend to favour the short-term financial interests of shareholders (shareholder value), being driven in that direction by capital markets fixed on share price and short-term returns. 26 Other criticisms of the concept of shareholders as owners come from both a legal and economic perspective. As noted in a well-known essay critical of the shareholder primacy view, the view of shareholders as owners is not supported in law: 27 the shareholders do not, in fact, own the corporation. Rather, they own a type of corporate security commonly called stock. As owners of stock, shareholders rights are quite limited. For example, stockholders do not have the right to exercise control over the corporation s assets. The corporation s board of directors holds that right. Similarly, shareholders do not have any right to help themselves to the firm s earnings; the only time they can receive any payment directly from the corporation s coffers is when they receive a dividend, which occurs only when the directors decide to declare one. As a legal matter, shareholders accordingly enjoy neither direct control over the firm s assets nor direct access to them. Any influence they may have on the firm is indirect, through their influence on the board of directors. And (as Berle himself famously argued) in a public corporation with widely dispersed share ownership, shareholder influence over the board is often so diluted as to be negligible. Thus, while it perhaps is excusable to loosely describe a closely held firm with a single controlling shareholder as owned by that shareholder, it is misleading to use the language of ownership to describe the relationship between a public firm and its shareholders. The same article also questions the economic argument put forward for shareholder ownership: 28 Three years after Friedman made his argument in the New York Times, Fischer Black and Myron Scholes published their famous paper on options pricing. 29 This work, which provides the foundation for modern options theory, demonstrates that it is not only misleading to say that dispersed shareholders own a public corporation, but that it is even questionable, from an economic perspective, to say that a single controlling shareholder owns a closely held firm after the firm has issued debt. Options theory teaches us that once a firm has issued debt (as almost all firms do), it makes just as much sense to say that the debt-holders own the right to the corporation s cash flow but have sold a call option to the shareholder, as it does to say that the shareholder owns the right to the corporation s 26 Anderson, M, Jones, M, Marshall, S, Mitchell, R and Ramsay, I, Evaluating the shareholder primacy theory: Evidence from a survey of Australian directors, University of Melbourne Legal Studies Research Paper No theory_- evidence_from_a_survey_of_australian_directors 20_11_07_11.pdf, p 1 27 Stout, L, Bad and Not-so-Bad Arguments for Shareholder Primacy, Southern California Law Review, Vol 75:1189, 2002, facpub/ Ibid at Black, F and Scholes, M, The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities, 81 J Pol Econ 637, 637 (1973). Myron Scholes subsequently was awarded a Nobel Prize in Economics based on his work in this paper Governance Institute of Australia Shareholder primacy: Is there a need for change? 1120 cash flow but has bought a put option from the debtholders. Put differently, options theory demonstrates that bondholders and equity holders each share contingent control and bear residual risk in firms. How, then, can one describe a publicly held corporation that has issued debt as being owned by its shareholders? The short answer is that one cannot at least not if one is interested in accurately describing the legal and economic structure of the firm. Critics note that shareholder value maximisation is firmly entrenched in a moral framework. Shareholders are often described as the moral owners of the corporation, if not the legal owners, and directors are said to owe a moral duty to shareholders. Other arguments against shareholder primacy note that companies rely on various modes of finance, and that the focus on the capital provided by shareholders takes no account of other capital such as the manufactured, human, intellectual, social and natural capitals which are either supplied by stakeholders or the depletion of which affects stakeholders. Despite the legal and economic arguments against the concept of shareholder ownership, the concept remains central to corporate governance approaches and underpins many corporate law reforms which view the best interests of the company as synonymous with the best interests of the body of shareholders. 12 View more
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