What do you know about corporate governance practices in our industry?
The interviewer wants to understand the depth of your experience and knowledge when it comes to rules of engagement in the metals and mining industry. Feel free to explore the level of your exposure, in brief. Even if you have no professional experience in this regard, or if it is beyond your scope, it offers an opportunity to display your level of engagement in your career and industry by displaying how well-read and current you are with the media and news coverage of your industry. Being in the know will allow you to display yourself as a trusted resource who has a vested interest in maintaining your professional relevance and worth. Show the interviewer that you have exposure to corporate governance but avoid giving a long-winded answer.
"Corporate rules and practices were governed heavily in my last three positions. In all three positions, our board of directors created corporate governance guidelines that strongly supported the integrity of our operations. I believe corporate governance practices always need to be in line with the stockholders' best interests. Corporate governance should also provide oversight of the company's accounting and financial reporting processes."
"As I am new to this industry, I do not have a vast amount of knowledge when it comes to corporate governance. With that said, I have started to study these, using government websites as a resource. If you have any suggestion for me on what to study, I am very open to suggestions."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
Corporate governance plays a vital role in regards to the metals and mining industry when it comes to land, environmental affairs, and practices governing all relevant stakeholders.
Rachelle's Feedback
Good! This is a nice, formal answer. Do you have any industry training in governance/regulations?
Anonymous Answer
While I don't have a lot of exposure to corporate governance in the mining industry, we do focus pretty heavily on ESG in my current role. I think that stems from limited investor interest in areas of oil and gas recently. I do think that there are analogies in the mining sector. Things like human rights, ethical conduct, cybersecurity, diversity, and even responses to changing social norms.
I think it's pretty evident the benefits of good governance in mining and I can see that it's important to BHP and Jansen through their operational agreements with first nations. You look at a company like bre-x that really damaged the Canadian mining market and spurred a lot of regulation changes as what I would say is probably the best example of governance breakdown in Canada's mining history.
So good governance can protect against downside risk, but it can also be seen as adding to competitive advantage in terms of operational stability and reliability, but also their brand reputation, through being able to focus on their positive actions rather than defending against missteps.
Marcie's Feedback
Awesome! You come across as very knowledgeable in this area, which the interviewer will undoubtedly appreciate. Great job!
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