The
share of CEOs forced out of office for ethical lapses has been on the rise,
according to the 2016 CEO Success
study by Strategy&, PwC’s strategy consulting business. The study, which
analysed CEO successions at the world’s largest 2,500 public companies over the
past 10 years, reports that forced turnovers due to ethical lapses rose from
3.9% of all successions in 2007–2011, to 5.3% in 2012–2016. The 36% increase was
due in large part to increased public scrutiny and accountability of
executives.
The
increase was more dramatic at companies in the US and Canada, where forced
turnovers for ethical lapses increased from 1.6% of all successions in
2007–2011 to 3.3% in 2012–2016, or a 102% jump. In Western Europe, the share of
CEOs forced out for ethical lapses increased to 5.9% from 4.2%, and in the BRIC
countries, to 8.8% from 3.6%.
It is noteworthy that
there were 12 women globally appointed to the role of CEO in 2016 – 3.6% of the
incoming class. This marks a return of the slow trend toward greater diversity
that had been in place over the last several years, and a recovery from the
previous year’s low point of 2.8%. The share of incoming female CEOs was
highest in the US and Canada, rebounding to 5.7% after falling for the previous
three years. Five industries – healthcare, industrials, information technology,
consumer staples, and telecom services – did not have a single incoming female
CEO in 2016.
Read the full
story “More
CEOs forced out of office for ethical lapses” at Chartered Accountants
Worldwide online. This article was
originally published by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA)
in the June 2017 edition of ISCA
Journal.