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Privacy and Private Equity

Chris Higson's paper for treasury committee tackles discrepancies in Walker Report

Chris Higson has recently submitted a paper to the treasury committee challenging the recommendations of Sir David Walker, who, in his recent report into the Private Equity industry, argued vigorously for the right to privacy, particularly about the rewards of senior managers and the partners in private equity firms.

Higson argues that Walker’s philosophy is inconsistent with modern notions of accountability and is not grounded in GAAP or company law; and subsequently that if it was to be widely accepted it would turn the clock back a generation.

“We need companies that are acquired by private equity to disclose the same information as would public companies of similar size, and the private equity firm itself to report as if it was a public company”, says Higson.

He goes on to reassert the central role of transparency and disclosure in a shareholder-capitalism economy, arguing, “There is also a need for a well-resourced process of oversight and scrutiny, if disclosure is not going to regress to tokenism and boilerplate.”

For more information on Chris Higson’s paper please visit the Private Equity Institute website

Created: Friday 14 December 2007

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