Corporate Governance and Ethics at AMP Limited

2018
Corporate Governance and Ethics
AMP Limited

1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The principles of governance and ethics are the matter of importance not just for the
individuals in their professions, but also for the organisations. The aim of the work is to
evaluate the corporate governance and ethical practices at the company AMP Limited
concerning the principles of corporate governance. Recently, the organisation was in the
news because of the investigations initiated by the Banking Royal Commission in Australia.
This report will evaluate the various facets of the role of the ethics and corporate
governance in the operations of multinational organisations of the 21st century. The
corporation has acted unethically while managing its business and its top level management
has indulged in illegal activities in order to generate more profits. The whistle blower policy
of the enterprise is not suitable to ensure that the rights of stakeholders are protected since
the whistle blowers are dismissed from the organisation, and no action is taken against their
reporting. Recommendations are included in the report such as ethics training program,
monitoring of actions, and CSR framework which should have implemented the corporation
in its corporate governance program to avoid the scandal.

2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 3
Background of the incidents.....................................................................................................4
Shortcomings in Corporate Governance Policies.....................................................................4
Culture/Circumstances which led to the events.......................................................................5
Whistle blower policies and whether they are sufficient to protect stakeholders...................6
Recommended Strategies........................................................................................................ 7
Conclusion................................................................................................................................ 9
References..............................................................................................................................10

3
INTRODUCTION
Corporate Governance and ethics are the core values on which the business
operations thrive, and the entities survive in the long run. These are often regarded as the
framework that directs, guides, and controls the actions of the board, employees, and the
overall entity (Mason & Simmons, 2014). These are essential because there is a wide range
of stakeholders, which are affected by the businesses of the entities. The entity AMP Limited
is a company based at Australia and New Zealand, providing a range of services namely,
insurance, financial consultancy, superannuation, and investment products and the banking
products like home loans and savings account as well. The shares of the entity are listed on
the Australian Stock Exchange, as well as the New Zealand Stock Exchange. One of the
striking characteristics of the entity is that it has one of the largest bodies of shareholders in
Australia; this is because the entity had started its operations as a mutual society and on the
event of its demutualisation, all the policyholders had received the shares of the company
(AMP, 2018a). However, the operations of the entity have been in the news since the
Banking Royal Commission has initiated inquiries. Thus, the scope of this report is to assess
the relationship between corporate governance and corporate performance of the entity.
The framework used for the analysis is the corporate governance and ethical theories, and
ASX principles. The report concludes with the recommendations for improving the said area
of operations and for overall development of the organisation.