The Leader - July/August 2008 - (Page 10)

real estate I N the NeWs sarbanes-oxley: coMplIaNce costs declINe The costs of complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are falling, according to a survey of 185 companies from Financial Executives International, reports the Wall Street Journal. While large companies spent 2 percent more on audit fees in 2007, the cost of internal-control audits, required by the law, dropped 5.4 percent to $846,000. The increase in total costs is likely due to auditors hiking their hourly rates, the survey said, as companies paid an average of $210 per hour, up 5 percent over costs in 2006. For smaller companies, audit fees rose 5.4 percent and only 9 percent of their audit fees were spent on internal controls reviews because smaller firms are not required to conduct those reviews. Survey respondents also said that the time auditors used a more integrated approach than in previous years, and the auditors spent assessing internal controls fell 14 percent and internal assessment hours fell by 8.6 percent. Auditors reviewed fewer key controls and took a more risk-based approach, executives said, focusing on significant risks and relying on the work of others more often. regional airports throughout Europe. The San Diego-based commercial property investment firm has staked the new venture with $100 million to rapidly deploy its business plan throughout Europe. Airport Development Partners will operate as a joint venture with Westcore. Initial projects are set to include the development of cargo and logistics facilities in Vienna, Austria; new cargo facility development at the Bratislava, Slovakia, airport; and infrastructure reconstruction at two Polish airports. Established eight years ago, Westcore and its principals have invested in upwards of $2.2 billion in properties totaling more than 10 million sq. ft. (929,030 sq. m.). a lack of detailed disclosure about their environmental liabilities, and has proposed including verifiable estimates of the cost of such risks in financial statements. Some companies are no longer issuing PR-oriented CSR reports. Still, The Carbon Disclosure Project demonstrates global investors’ level of demand for disclosure from the top 200 TSX firms and other companies from around the world. In europe, Westcore gets lay of the land Westcore Properties has established Airport Development Partners SA, a new subsidiary tasked with developing good guys finish first In Canada, more companies have embraced corporate social responsibility (CSR) over the past 24 months as an opportunity to show investors, consumers, advocacy groups, and regulators that they are good corporate citizens. However, the environmental and social track records of companies continue to come under scrutiny, and there is now a demand for better quantitative analysis in voluntary disclosure reports and third-party assurance of CSR data, reports CA Magazine. The Ontario Securities Commission has criticized Canadian publicly traded companies for daiwa house to Boost Japan, china retail Investment After housing starts fell in its home market of Japan, Daiwa House Industry Co. announced plans to boost investment in commercial building projects locally and overseas, Bloomberg reports. Development spending will total $4.4 billion over the next three years, Japan’s biggest homebuilder stated, with the company expanding commercial investments in three Asian countries – Japan, China, and Vietnam – and curbing residential spending. Both Daiwa House and its main rival Sekisui House Ltd. are diversifying investments into commercial real estate as a declining Japanese population shrinks the country’s residential construction sector. Housing starts in March were down 15.6 percent from a year earlier, after declining 5 percent the previous month. the le ade r 10 J u ly / a u g u s t

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leader - July/August 2008

The Leader - July/August 2008 Leadership Contents Message from the CEO Real Estate in the News Organizational Design Accommodating Growth Responding to the Challenge EMEA's Building Energy Rating TVA's Shortcut to Success ANZ Banking Group’s Jane Hamilton Tractus Asia’s Dennis Messeroll Arizona’s Greg Weiner Workplace Design Workplace Directory The Texas Report Industry Tracker Discovery Forum Findings Career Development Congratulations to 2008 Corenet Global Award Winners! Young Leader Economic Development in the News Connect with Corenet Global A Look Ahead

The Leader - July/August 2008

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