Leslie W Spiers | Bournemouth University (original) (raw)

Papers by Leslie W Spiers

The extant literature consistently identifies small companies as being inherently fragile, render... more The extant literature consistently identifies small companies as being inherently fragile, rendering them more liable to fail than their larger counterparts in the event of a crisis occurring. This paper considers the findings of a series of interviews with directors of small companies concerning corporate governance, risk and their preparedness to manage a crisis. Current corporate governance practice adds little to the effective management of crises in small companies where a prevailing attitude of denial by directors limits meaningful actions to prevent or mitigate the consequences of unanticipated events. The paper also incorporates the observations of the author, a board chairman for over 30 years, concerning corporate governance in practice within small companies.
Keywords: corporate governance, small companies, risk, crisis management, boards of directors, non-executive directors.
JEL codes: D81, G34, M00.

The extant literature consistently identifies small companies as being inherently fragile, render... more The extant literature consistently identifies small companies as being inherently fragile, rendering them more liable to fail than their larger counterparts in the event of a crisis occurring. This paper considers the findings of a series of interviews with directors of small companies concerning corporate governance, risk and their preparedness
to manage a crisis. Current corporate governance practice adds little to the effective management of crises in small companies where a prevailing attitude of denial by directors limits meaningful actions to prevent or mitigate the consequences of unanticipated
events. The paper also incorporates the observations of the author, a board chairman for over 30 years, concerning corporate governance in practice within small companies.
Keywords: corporate governance, small companies, risk, crisis management, boards of directors, non-executive directors.
JEL codes: D81, G34, M00.

Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) account for just under half of private sector employment... more Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) account for just under half of private sector employment in the UK and are a major contributor to the economy. It is therefore important that those businesses survive, thrive and prosper despite being resource constrained and generally lacking in awareness and expertise regarding, governance, strategy and risk. SME boards tend to be unstructured and meet on an ad hoc basis rather than operate to a code of governance in the way that quoted companies are required to do under listing rules. This development paper examines the relationship between a code of governance appropriate to the needs of SMEs and the way in which the adoption of that code by one particular company contributed towards a pro-active policy of crisis management planning.

The extant literature consistently identifies small companies as being inherently fragile, render... more The extant literature consistently identifies small companies as being inherently fragile, rendering them more liable to fail than their larger counterparts in the event of a crisis occurring. This paper considers the findings of a series of interviews with directors of small companies concerning corporate governance, risk and their preparedness to manage a crisis. Current corporate governance practice adds little to the effective management of crises in small companies where a prevailing attitude of denial by directors limits meaningful actions to prevent or mitigate the consequences of unanticipated events. The paper also incorporates the observations of the author, a board chairman for over 30 years, concerning corporate governance in practice within small companies.
Keywords: corporate governance, small companies, risk, crisis management, boards of directors, non-executive directors.
JEL codes: D81, G34, M00.

The extant literature consistently identifies small companies as being inherently fragile, render... more The extant literature consistently identifies small companies as being inherently fragile, rendering them more liable to fail than their larger counterparts in the event of a crisis occurring. This paper considers the findings of a series of interviews with directors of small companies concerning corporate governance, risk and their preparedness
to manage a crisis. Current corporate governance practice adds little to the effective management of crises in small companies where a prevailing attitude of denial by directors limits meaningful actions to prevent or mitigate the consequences of unanticipated
events. The paper also incorporates the observations of the author, a board chairman for over 30 years, concerning corporate governance in practice within small companies.
Keywords: corporate governance, small companies, risk, crisis management, boards of directors, non-executive directors.
JEL codes: D81, G34, M00.

Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) account for just under half of private sector employment... more Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) account for just under half of private sector employment in the UK and are a major contributor to the economy. It is therefore important that those businesses survive, thrive and prosper despite being resource constrained and generally lacking in awareness and expertise regarding, governance, strategy and risk. SME boards tend to be unstructured and meet on an ad hoc basis rather than operate to a code of governance in the way that quoted companies are required to do under listing rules. This development paper examines the relationship between a code of governance appropriate to the needs of SMEs and the way in which the adoption of that code by one particular company contributed towards a pro-active policy of crisis management planning.