to comply (with) (v) – to follow or to obey a law or a regulation
Compliance (n) – fulfillment of a legal requirement or a regulation
Corporate Governance (n) – The mechanism by which interested parties (the board, management, shareholders and stakeholders) in a corporation interact with each other and promote their interests. Corporate governance is a dynamic phenomenon, in two important ways: First, the interaction among the parties is dynamic. Second, the rights and responsibilities of each of the parties have a time component. For example, members of the board are responsible for: review of documents regarding the company’s previous financial period(s); analysis of the company’s present financial status; and brainstorming with management about the company’s strategy for the future.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) (n) – A concept that encompasses a company’s interaction with all stakeholders, including: banks, bondholders, business partners, communities where the company operates, employees, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in the communities where the company operates and shareholders. The concept of CSR can be contrasted with maximization of shareholder value as the sole purpose of the corporation.
to disclose (v) – to provide information publicly, in compliance with a law or a regulation requiring it
Disclosure (n) – the making public of information, in compliance with a law or a regulation requiring it
Emerging Markets (n) – A heterogeneous group of countries/markets whose macro-economic indicators (such as GDP and growth rate), financial indicators (such as financial penetration and exchange rate volatility) and socio-economic indicators (such as legal framework, literacy and political stability) range somewhere between those of developing countries and developed countries.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) indicators (n) – The increasingly codified and standardized set of extra-financial indicators which companies use to disclose information and investors/stakeholders use to analyze as well as monitor companies.
Investor Relations (n) – The processes through which a company (usually a company that has issued bonds or shares) discloses information about itself in order to attract investors. An effective investor relations program provides investors with the information they require to make informed investment decisions and exercise their rights.
Shareholder Rights (n) – The rights which a shareholder possesses when (s)he purchases the share of a company. Shareholders have three groups of rights: information rights, voting rights and financial rights.
Shareholder Value (n) – A concept that postulates that the sole purpose of the corporation is to provide (financial) value to shareholders. This concept is closely linked to the Anglo-US corporate governance model, in particular, to (recent) US practice. Shareholder value and the shareholder model of corporate governance may be contrasted with stakeholder models of corporate governance, such as the German model and the Japanese model. (See stakeholder model below).
SRI – Socially Responsible Investment (also known as Responsible Investment) (n) – A type of investment that uses ESG data to analyze, evaluate, monitor and select companies as part of the investment decision-making process. The SRI process can employ a number of strategies, including: benchmarking; exclusion of certain companies or industries; and/or engagement with the investee company on ESG issues.
Stakeholder Model (n) – A model of corporate governance which recognizes the role of a variety of stakeholders (including: banks, business partners, employees, shareholders and the state) in corporate governance. The German and Japanese corporate governance models are viewed as stakeholder models, in contrast to the Anglo-US corporate governance model, which is viewed as a shareholder model. (See shareholder value above).
Sustainability (n) – A concept that focuses on the long-term viability of a company. This concept can be contrasted with focus on short-term financial indicators (such as quarterly financial results) or short-term profit maximization. .
Triple Bottom Line (n) – An alternative method of analyzing a company’s bottom-line or financial and extra-financial status. Triple-bottom line analysis incorporates the analysis of not only financial indicators but also the three ESG indicators, defined as people, planet and profit.