Kevin West Speaks at CSCS Conference

Kevin West was pleased to be invited back to speak at the Canadian Society of Corporate Secretaries (CSCS) 17th Annual Corporate Governance Conference in Montreal, Quebec on August 16-19, 2015.

The CSCS Conference is the premier Canadian conference for corporate secretaries and governance professionals. This year’s conference theme, Governance, Risk and Ethics: A New Age of Accountability, brought together leading governance experts and practitioners to provide their perspective on both sides of governance.

Kevin and his fellow speakers, Catherine Gordon, President of SimpleLogic Inc., and John Truzzolino, Director of Business Development at RR Donnelley, presented on the topic of “Enhancing Disclosure with Plain Language.” Their session explored current issues in public company disclosure with a focus on efficiently preparing disclosure that is clear, concise and responsive to the form requirements. For more information or for tips on writing in plain English, please view copies of the presentation and handout below.

One of the highlights of the conference was the keynote address by former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow, who was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the Enron accounting scandal. While Andrew likened his appearance as a speaker at a corporate governance conference to “inviting Kim Kardashian to talk to your daughters about chastity”, his views on the governance failures that allowed the scandal to occur were thought-provoking and insightful. The Globe and Mail picked up the story in this Report on Business article: Former Enron CFO Speaks of Convictions, Offers Business Advice.

The CSCS Conference was a great success and Kevin is honoured to have participated in the event. A big thank you to the CSCS team for once again putting on a first-class event.