Steinhoff’s new ethics committee ‘does little to reduce concern’
'They were on the board, it was their duty to prevent this and now they’re going to investigate it,' says Sasfin Securities’ David Shapiro
Steinhoff’s move to assemble a subcommittee of independent nonexecutive directors has done little to reduce concern about corporate governance failures at the beleaguered group, says the deputy chairman of Sasfin Securities, David Shapiro. The group said on Monday it had assembled a subcommittee of independent nonexecutive directors, headed by former Sanlam CEO Johan van Zyl, "to bolster the independent governance of the group". The other members are former Absa CEO Steve Booysen and Heather Sonn. "It doesn’t give me any comfort at all — they were on the board, it was their duty to prevent this, and now they’re going to investigate it," Shapiro said. Given the size of the company’s recent deals and how onerous accounting processes were, Shapiro said that "along the way, there are many people who must’ve been aware of what was happening, or if not party to it, turned a blind eye, which is worse". He said he was becoming disillusioned with corporate SA as Steinhoff’s and other recent ...
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