Board Services

In recent years the requirements placed on corporate governance have grown considerably. In the past, corporate governance was primarily directed towards achieving shareholder value. Today, corporate governance is focused on greater sustainability and pays more heed to the interests of other stakeholders. This "multi-stakeholder" approach means trying to achieve appropriate financial results while adhering to certain standards of behavior, such as ecological and social guidelines.

Legislators and regulatory authorities around the globe have reacted to the weaknesses perceived in corporate governance practice by issuing new regulations and setting out new norms of behavior. The regulations cover a wide range of areas, including professional supervisory boards, responsibilities for financial and risk management, and top-management compensation. The regulators have also issued new regulations governing the compensation of top managers.

In Germany, the Act on the Appropriateness of Management Board Compensation (Gesetz zur Angemessenheit der Vorstandsvergütung, VorstAG) and the German Corporate Governance Code (Deutscher Corporate Governance Kodex, DCGK) have modified corporate law and the commercial code considerably. The changes involve a substantial increase in the tasks, responsibility and liability of supervisory bodies and a clearer definition of their role.

They have also raised the required level of qualification for members of supervisory boards and their committees and stipulated further requirements about the composition of supervisory bodies. In the banking sector, new rules on equity have significantly increased the monitoring and reporting duties of supervisory boards. The regulations are constantly evolving. This means that issues relating to risk, finance and compensation for supervisory boards, management boards and CEOs are at the forefront of the supervisory authorities' minds and the subject of close public scrutiny (see also Banking Services).

As independent experts in board services, hkp/// advises supervisory boards on many areas of corporate governance. We also support processes for defining, controlling and monitoring executive compensation (see also Executive Compensation) and raising the efficiency of supervisory bodies, taking into account the relevant aspects of financial and risk management. hkp/// stands for state-of-the-art knowledge, reliable opinions and a passion for finding the best-possible solution.

Our unique combination of compensation expertise, financial know-how and risk competence enables us to develop tailored concepts for supervisory boards and assist in their implementation.