Corporate Governance Paper Competition and Presentation Awards 2023

The annual Corporate Governance Paper Competition and Presentation Awards organised by the Institute aims at promoting the importance of good governance among local undergraduates and providing them with an opportunity to research, write and present their findings and opinions on the selected theme.

Current undergraduates of all disciplines in Hong Kong were eligible to enrol for this Competition in a team of two to four members. Each enrolled team was required to submit a paper on the theme of not more than 5,000 words in English on or before Sunday, 9 July 2023, by email to student@hkcgi.org.hk.

These papers are subject to a two-tier review: first by a designated group of reviewers to select six finalist teams; and then by the three-member panel judges to determine the Best Paper Award and the first and second runners-up of the Paper Competition.

The six finalist teams will present their papers on Saturday, 16 September 2023, to compete for the Best Presentation Award and Audience’s Favourite Team Award.

For the previous Competitions, please visit HERE.

Please contact the Qualifications and Assessments Section: 2830 6039 or email: student@hkcgi.org.hk.

About the theme

This year’s theme is ‘Climate change disclosures – is the world too focused on this topic?’.

Climate change is an international concern. Companies are under increasing pressure to disclose the impacts of their operations on the environment and climate change and vice versa as the shift to a more sustainable economy accelerates. In this sense it is part of the ‘E’ in ESG.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has proposed a draft set of disclosure standards which purports to be the global baseline for climate-related disclosures based on the TCFD recommendations and other standards. The common assumption is that with proper disclosures, investors, lenders, insurers and other stakeholders should be able to make more informed decisions from micro to macro issues on matters relevant to them.

However, others contend that the emphasis on climate change disclosures detracts from other corporate governance issues and also small and medium-sized businesses cannot afford the resources. Geopolitics, such as the energy crises, factor into the debate.

Participants in this Competition are encouraged to:

1. Examine the state of climate change disclosures at the moment
2. Discuss whether the world is too focused on climate change disclosures, and
3.  Any other relevant issues.