Two Western Australian resource companies have received a one-star rating for corporate governance, according to a report by chartered accountants WHK Horwath.
Aquila Resources Ltd and Murchison Metals Ltd were given the rating in the 2008 WHK Horwath Corporate Governance Report, which canvasses corporate governance structures and policies of the country's top 250 companies.
The report's findings, independently compiled by the University of Newcastle Professor Jim Psaros, are based on surveys conducted over the past six years.
The report found that the number of companies obtaining a one-star rating had increased from 2.4 per cent in the 2007 analysis to 4 per cent this year.
The report said that a one-star rating means that corporate governance structures were lacking in most key areas.
Murchison was ranked 245 out of the 250 companies surveyed, while Aquila came in at 242, up five places from last year. Included in the bottom 10 were Prime Television, Allegiance Mining NL and Reece Australia.
"The surprising result of this survey is the increased polarisation of the policies, procedures and practices of Australia's top companies," said Professor Psaros.
"The good news is that the number of companies awarded five-stars because of their excellence in corporate governance has increased.
"The sobering bad news is that the number of companies obtaining one-star because of their significant deficiencies in corporate governance has also increased."
Companies that achieved a five-star rating included Orica, Incitec Pivot, Programmed Maintenance, Crane Group, Perpetual Trustees and Foster's Group.
Only three companies managed to achieve a five-star rating for all six reports which were David Jones, Santos and Woolworths.
