Interview by Blandine CORDIER-PALASSE, Scientific Committee, Grand Prix de la Transparence
Since 2009, the Grands Prix de la Transparence have been rewarding the quality of information provided by SBF 120 companies. This quality is based on four pillars: accessibility, accuracy, comparability and availability.
Why transparency? Because, according to the Scientific Committee of the Grands Prix, it is "a factor in the sustainable development of the company". Fable, didactic and less austere information would improve the confidence of everyone in the company.
95,993 is the amount of data collected in 2021 to assess the level of transparency of 141 companies governed by French law on 465 information media (universal registration document, notice of meeting brochure, ethics charter, investor section of the website). The results show that SBF 120 companies had an average transparency score of 43 % in 2021, compared with 39 % a year earlier. So transparency is gaining ground on all fronts!
The transparency score for ethical charters rose by 11 points in 2021 to 37.7 %. Their level of transparency still lags behind that of more mature documents. However, the efforts made by companies in this area deserve to be highlighted. Bureau Veritas was awarded the Grand Prize for the 2021 Ethics Charter. Its transparency score was 64.1 %. The company updated its charter in 2020. The charter includes case studies and links to other ethics/compliance documents and procedures.
The next challenge for ethics and compliance teams? To make their documents clearer and more educational in order to improve team understanding and the adoption of the best reflexes. And why not... dethrone universal registration documents on the altar of transparency!
Interview
Blandine Cordier-Palasse Founder of BCP Partners, a recruitment and governance consultancy, and member of the Scientific Committee of the Grands Prix de la Transparence.
What does the word "transparency" mean to you? Why is it a key issue for companies?
Transparency is about trust. It is the fact that the parties
The company's stakeholders - who are becoming increasingly widespread - can have confidence in their relationship with the company, its management and all its employees. Behind this notion of trust lies the challenge of providing reliable and verifiable information. Be careful, however, not to confuse transparency, trust and business secrecy.
The notion of transparency is crucial. It has evolved enormously over the last few years with the increasing involvement of governance bodies. Added to this is the growing awareness of the importance of ethical and compliance issues, etc...
In fact, 70 SBF 120 companies are interested in transparency.
What were the key findings or strongest points of discussion this year within the Scientific Committee of the Grands Prix de la Transparence?
What particularly struck us was the considerable rise in importance of non-financial information. Moreover, it is reflétée in the evaluation criteria for corporate information. The challenge is to be able to provide coherent, clear and as complete information as possible in this area, while weighing up the complexity of the criteria. The development of the integrated report has played a major role in the need to develop transparency on this type of information.
Investors themselves are paying increasing attention. They now assess companies more on the quality of their non-financial information than on financial information, where all companies are ultimately on an equal footing in terms of the information they provide. The challenge for companies now is to identify the right criteria, depending on their level of maturity, the commitment of their managers and their exposure to increasingly varied and complex risks.
With regard to ethical charters, what good practices have you identified this year that could inspire other companies?
More than 90 of the % companies in the SBF 120 now have ethics charters. Ten have been updated in the last two years. These charters are becoming more educational, with examples of virtuous or punishable situations or behaviour, case studies to help make the right decisions, and graphs and infographics. This is a good thing, as it underlines the importance of ethics in a company's overall information system. One of the most striking developments has been in whistleblowing practices. For example, 65 % of companies set out their whistleblowing procedure in their ethics charter. Nearly 30 % specify that it is open to external employees.
One area for progress is sanctions. Barely 26 % of charters include a section defining sanctions in the event of breaches. Yet this is an important element in the reality and application of ethical commitments within companies. Finally, only 18 % of the groups present the governance of ethics in their charter. It is essential to develop this point, as it is a key element of more global governance. Ethics are becoming increasingly important at an organisational level, which is excellent news. We need to encourage it.
What are the new frontiers for Ethics Charters?
These documents traditionally cover the following topics
human rights, the fight against corruption, data protection, the environment and the promotion of diversity and inclusion. A subject less often addressed, but which is - in our view - particularly important in the current context, is that of cybersecurity and compliance with economic sanctions programmes.
I would like to conclude by pointing out that two words are often used in these documents: responsibility and courage. Indeed, these two notions are inseparable from ethics and compliance, and therefore from transparency and trust. In fact, more than 40 % of companies advocate zero tolerance on these issues.
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