Statoil Finance

Problem 1: Write a short summary of the corporate governance principals stated in Statoil ASA’s annual report 2010.

Thorough defining their objective as a corporation, Statoil directly links their view on corporate governance to long-term value creation for the shareholders. They portray a high level of internal corporate culture and clearly express their desire to be in compliance, not only with the “Norwegian Code of Practice for Corporate Governance”, but also the standard set by the corporation in it self. An emphasis on personal integrity should be reflected throughout the corporation to the shareholders, and create an assurance of strong ethical and environmental standards.

Clearly stated is Statoil’s view on the correlation between high-quality corporate governance and value creation for the shareholder. Having a well-defined division of roles in the corporate structure is meant to create security for the shareholders, employees and stakeholder of the community.

Strong guidelines for the relationship to the shareholders of the corporation are presented and include, but are not limited to: equal treatment for all shareholders and up-to-date information on company activities. An independent board of directors, focus on eliminating conflicts of interest between the various bodies of the corporation as well as annual review of corporate governance practice.

Problem 2: Corporate governance:

Why is corporate governance important to the shareholders of a firm? Should the same corporate governance rules be applied to all companies? Why or why not?

Corporate governance is put in place to deal with any potential conflicts of interest internally and externally in a firm and then when needed, mitigation of these issues. Corporate governance, thus intended to increase the accountability of your firm and to avoid considerable damages before they occur. It’s important