Corporate Governance
Corporate Governance deals primarily with the board and how it conducts itself. Organizations of all types and sizes are beginning to realize the importance and relevance of this diverse, rapidly developing field. Compliance with regulatory requirements is really just the tip of the iceberg, so what should you be doing to put good Corporate Governance in place?

Regulation
Corporate Governance is receiving an increasing amount of attention from both the media and regulatory bodies such the SEC in the USA and the FSA in the UK. However, regulatory compliance is only one aspect. IAS/IFRS and other standards form a subset of the regulatory requirements (more information on these standards can be found here). In addition to these, Corporate Governance also deals with process and procedural requirements, such as eligibility and suitability of directors and executives, organizational and structural requirements, timeliness and materiality (Sarbanes-Oxley and other legislation), etc.

Transparency
Stakeholders’ visibility is another area that those responsible for Corporate Governance need to consider. The newspapers are full of a steady stream of stories about the shareholders and investors of various companies questioning the decisions and activities of companies and directors: remuneration packages, appointments, off-shoring. These and a wide variety of other topics have been publicly debated by unhappy investors at company AGMs in several industries. These days, investors, workers and governments want to know not just the outcome of the decision, but how the decision was reached.

Risk, Reputation and more Regulation
A third emerging area of Corporate Governance is 'Risk and Reputation Management' - knowing the worth of your brand, the value of your intangible assets and the effect that your actions could have on them. In certain markets, understanding how your company is exposed to financial or environmental risk or the effects of proposed legislation is vital. Additional regulations and accords such as BASEL II are constantly being introduced and requirements for documenting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental impact affect organizations based in several countries.

Performance Management
The sheer scale of the tasks involved with understanding how your company is performing, gaining control of the link between strategy and execution, and ensuring repeatable, auditable regulatory compliance require the support of automated systems. CODA’s Financials and Intelligence solutions, and the next generation of CODA analytical products, can help companies draw these strands together into a coherent Corporate Performance Management system that can provide invaluable support for the systems needed to support Corporate Governance initiatives.

Here is a selection of recent reports, white papers and releases covering the issues and recent developments in the field of Corporate Governance.