Watch Your Wallet
from What Directors Think 2003
SURVEY SAYS: We’re Worried
83.9% say they’re more at risk personally because of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Yes, I do feel more secure, because now we’re more diligent. We spend more time on the issues; we take much more time to go over things.
Charles L. Ruthe, 69
Retired President, Boyd Gaming Corp., Las Vegas
Sierra Health Services
No, just the opposite.
Today, I think, most directors feel more threatened by the new regulations and the possibility of lower directors’ and officers’ liability coverage due to higher costs—and the threat of no coverage whatsoever in some cases.
Randall Larrimore, 56
Retired President and CEO, United Stationers, Des Plaines, Illinois
Campbell Soup, Olin
No, I do not feel any better than a year ago. All the new, complex regulations may create the potential for more frivolous shareholder suits.
John S. McFarlane, 55
Former President and CEO, Nexsi Systems, San Jose, California
Creo Inc., Pitney Bowes
The requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley jeopardize the personal assets of a director more than ever before. We have a lot of legal responsibility. Board members can no longer claim, “I didn’t know.”
David A. Lieberman, 68
Senior Vice President for Business and Finance, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
Ivax Corp.
Frankly, I don’t know why anyone would want to be a director. It can be fun, but the remuneration isn’t enough to take on the liability. I’m really thankful we filled out our board before these regulations. As the CEO, I pretty much know what’s going on, but if I were an independent director, I don’t know if I’d want the liability.
Timothy L. Main, 46
President, CEO, and Director, Jabil Circuit Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida
To some degree, I do feel more secure. When a CEO and a chief financial officer have to certify the disclosures that are made for investment decision-making, that helps investors like me feel they’re as attentive as they should be. As a director, I’ve seen quite a bit of attention paid to making sure information being shared with stakeholders is consistent, truthful, and of high quality.
William D. Jones, 48
President and CEO, CityLink Investment Corp., San Diego
Sempra Energy
I don’t think anyone believes that trial lawyers are doing anything but hovering over Sarbanes-Oxley and every other requirement, drooling at the opportunity to look into any violations. In my opinion, as long as you have rabid-dog trial lawyers looking over everything for any kind of mistake, it’s not going to offer feelings of calmness or security for directors. In some ways, Sarbanes-Oxley is a full-employment act for trial lawyers.
Philip J. Quigley, 61
Retired Chairman and CEO, Pacific Telesis, San Francisco
Larscom, Nuance Communications, Wells Fargo
