Corporate Governance Thematic Review of Authorised Firms in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)

A questionnaire went to all 301 firms then authorised in the DIFC with 262 responses, an 87 per cent participation rate, of which 220 were used after validation, plus eleven on-site inspections; fieldwork was carried out in 2013 and the report is dated 11 August 2014. Controllers sat on 35 per cent of governing bodies against independent non-executive members on 25 per cent, 24 per cent had a chairman who was also the Senior Executive Officer and 20 per cent a chairman who was also a Controller. Only 9 per cent had a formal process for reviewing the governing body's effectiveness, none had one for committees, no firm had a documented policy for escalating concerns to the governing body, and none of the 220 respondents reported any corporate governance training.