Isle of Man, 15 May 2015 – Laurence Skelly, Minister for the Department of Economic Development highlighted the importance of transparency within the Isle of Man’s financial sector at the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators’ annual Isle of Man Conference yesterday.

Speaking at the Best Western Palace Hotel & Casino in Douglas, the Minister told delegates that the government is committed to ensuring that the Isle of Man continues to be a jurisdiction that is able to operate globally with no fear of penalty. He praised the Isle of Man for being a leader among offshore centres in signing up to tax and transparency agreements with trade partners, and stressed that countries wanting to operate in global markets need to operate within the global rules.

Company director Bob Semple called for more attention to be paid to board behaviour and for board members to receive proper psychological assessment in order to improve performance. Mr Semple said that psychological ‘blindspots’ are a serious impediment to good decision-making. He encouraged directors to be made aware of their own psychological make-up and that of their fellow directors as this enables better challenge and debate.

‘It is striking that research identifies that of many director attributes, humility is the one that declines most precipitously as individuals climb the corporate ladder to the boardroom. What we need is more humility to address boardroom behaviours. Otherwise all the corporate governance laws, regulations and policies will count for nothing,’ said Bob.

Delegates also heard from industry experts and peers about the following issues facing governance, risk and compliance professionals in the Isle of Man:
• Best practice in anti-money laundering
• The Bribery Act – best practice and the role of the company secretary
• Conflicts of interest
• EU Data Protection Directive update
• Strategic risk
• Transparency and competitive advantage

Christine Clucas, ICSA Isle of Man Vice Chair said, ‘This year’s conference was a huge success and provided the island’s professionals with the perfect forum to brush up their knowledge and network. The conference is a great way for businesses to meet the challenge of keeping up to date with the latest regulatory and legal changes and it also means that they are up to speed with the latest thinking in corporate governance, risk and compliance.’