Conflicts of interest in the governance of Maltese co-operatives and their financial implications

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to ascertain the major conflicts of interest faced in the governance of the Maltese co-operative movement consisting of three governing institutions and individual co-operatives, as well as the financial implications of such conflicts. Results from personal semi-structured interviews point to a lack of awareness on the deeper meaning of what constitutes a conflict of interest. Furthermore, no clear delineation of roles among the three institutions is as yet present. With respect to co-operatives, results reveal that the majority of conflicts of interest surface within committees of management owing to varying personal/entity interests and the overlapping roles of directorship and management. In the authors’ view, at the co-operative level, the need arises for the development of a general Code of Ethics and for better training for those in charge of governance, as well as for skill gap analysis and the formalisation of their relevant policies. On the other hand, at the institutional level, the need beckons for general restructuring, including revisions to the appointment system of the respective governing bodies.