Corporate Governance Criteria Updated for 2012 IR Global Rankings Survey

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IR Global Rankings

Mar 30, 2012, 08:29 ET

NEW YORK, March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IR Global Rankings (www.irglobalrankings.com), the sponsor of the most widely respected annual global ranking of corporate governance practices by listed companies, announced today that its survey questionnaire has been comprehensively revised and updated for 2012. The new questionnaire, which has already been circulated to listed companies in Europe and North America, has been widely praised by responding companies.  The questionnaire will be distributed to companies in Latin America, India and the Far East later this year.

Revision of the IR Global Rankings was primarily the responsibility of Sodali, Ltd, the global corporate governance and shareholder services consultancy, which worked closely with the other IR Rankings Global Coordinators – Audit firm KPMG, Washington DC-based law firm Arnold & Porter, and MZ Consult, the global investor relations consultancy.

The key changes in the questionnaire include:

  • Reclassification of sections to better handle the answers, allowing for a broader perspective;
  • Inclusion of a new section specifically addressing Corporate & Social Responsibility, which is becoming a hot topic;
  • Adapted many questions with the aim of avoiding misinterpretations;
  • Changed some questions within sections aiming at improving consistency;
  • Added new questions addressing new topics;
  • Reevaluated entirely the scoring attributable to each question in order to align it with the best practices currently available;
  • Reassessed each section's score redistributing the weight of each question, increasing for instance the weight on Board & Committees in detriment of other topics.

Results of the 2012 survey will not be announced until completion of additional mailings covering emerging markets. 2011 award winners and additional information can be easily reached at http://www.irglobalrankings.com.

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About IR Global Rankings: Solid communication with the investment community is a key priority for investor relations and corporate governance professionals, once value creation (stock prices) and risk perception can be managed. The implementation of best practices in communicating with the capital markets and fair disclosure procedures do help companies in earning and maintaining investor confidence. The annual IR Global Rankings and Awards survey is the most comprehensive auditing and ranking system for IR websites, corporate governance practices and financial disclosure procedures - a great opportunity to benchmark IR efforts vis-à-vis peers and industry leaders. Based on extensive proprietary research of publicly held companies and investors, and supported by input from independent audit, corporate governance and legal experts, IR Global Rankings methodology is highly detailed, transparent and fully accessible to all participants. The annual IR Global Rankings and Awards have grown each year since 1999.

About Sodali: Sodali is an independent and conflict-free consultancy, exclusively dedicated to advising Boards and the Management of companies on shareholder response. While providing services exclusively to companies and not representing dissident shareholders, we are convinced that effective advocacy on behalf of our corporate clients requires us to work within the financial community and to maintain credibility with investment decision-makers and shareholder advocates. For this reason we have positioned our business at the interface of companies and investors, supporting corporate governance best practices, transparency, director accountability, shareholder rights and investor responsibility standards. From this central position Sodali can act as a conduit for information, helping clients assess and mobilize shareholder support for AGMs and other strategic activities.

IR Global Rankings Team
NY: 1 212 813-2975
SP: 55 11 3529-3777

SOURCE IR Global Rankings

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