Davos Newbies

Time away

I’m going to be away from my keyboard for the rest of this week. Some friends express surprise that I can willingly disconnect myself, but I find it essential. I’m convinced that companies scrambling for recognition at events like Davos should sponsor a “disconnected” room, where there are no electronic links, no television screens and mobile phones don’t work. The only problem would be controlling access, such would be the demand for this special place.

What we should have discussed

Today’s Financial Times does a wonderful job of analysing the deeper consequences of the Enron affair (and other business and financial scandals) for the corporate, regulatory and financial worlds. This is what we should have been talking about during Davos in New York.

There’s nothing startling in the FT’s conclusions, but they are sensible and workable. On corporate governance, for example, the paper calls for “genuinely independent non-executive directors with a clear leader” and a strengthened audit committee. On accounting, the demand is for ”substance over form”.

What I admire about this coverage is both the seriousness of intent, but also the determined use of an unrivalled platform to campaign on a key issue. I don’t believe the FT would have done this a few years ago. Its new editor, Andrew Gowers, is clearly something of a fresh wind for the pink ‘un.