Valeur actionnariale vs. sociétale

Dans Fortune, le président du CA de AT&T revient sur le rôle des grandes entreprises dans nos sociétés contemporaines (Alan Murray et David Meyer, « AT&T chair Bill Kennard: ‘Legacy businesses have to disrupt themselves’ », 23 mars 2021)

Extrait :

« The board at AT&T, like all boards today, is focused on the role of corporations in society. Increasingly you are seeing corporations step into the vacuum where government leadership has sometimes failed or just can’t get the job done, and you are seeing corporations stepping up…Corporations are increasingly questioning, what is their role in society?  How do corporations help solve the challenges of income inequality and racial inequality in the country, and political instability? These are questions that corporations have to address in order to be successful in society.”

À la prochaine…

Peu de personnes se penchent sur le rôle crucial du procès-verbal des CA. Pourtant, ce document est plus que jamais important notamment en termes de responsabilité des administrateurs (on ne le rappellera jamais trop !). Or, voici qu’Ed Zimmermann en traite – sous un angle juridique en analysant la jurisprudence du Delaware – dans un article intitué « Did It In The Minutes: In Favor of More Detailed Startup Board Minutes for Important Décisions » (Forbes, 10 septembre 2015).

Qu’en retenir ? Je vous propose les extraits suivants…

We don’t typically advise boards to be Dickensian in approaching minutes, but do advise that board minutes reflect two things: first, that the board raised and considered the relevant questions, and second, that the board actually understood the transaction and its implications in the context of the broader market.

(…) Chief Justice Strine’s biting prose underscore that board members not only must press for answers, but the important factors the board considered when making material decisions should be reflected in the minutes.

(…) Board members should each review the minutes and approve them.  We too frequently see board members attempting to rubber stamp the minutes. At my law firm, we generally appreciate receiving edits or comments, as those typically demonstrate a heartening level of board-level engagement.  I say generally, because there are definitely times when a board member with a self-interested ax to grind provides detailed and self-serving comments geared toward effectuating what he wished had transpired rather than helping to correct inaccuracies.

The minutes shouldn’t be sloppy or a court may later find them unreliable.  Minutes should accurately reflect the attendee list for the meeting, even referencing those attendees who aren’t board members.

À la prochaine…

Ivan Tchotourian