The pillars of accountability, fairness, transparency and responsibility are key to effective corporate governance. We also look at such elements as strategy, structures and processes as well as risk governance to give participants a complete view of corporate governance.

Corporate governance in any jurisdiction cannot be discussed in isolation as it would, of essence, borrow from other standards and codes applied across the world. The King Four corporate governance principles, UK and Commonwealth standards and other global conventions are key to understanding the breadth of corporate governance.

Ranging from the Companies Act, the CMA guidelines, the Mwongozo code of governance for state corporations, Kenyan businesses have their corporate governance work cut out for them. Compliance to Kenya’s corporate governance standards is a basic obligation for boards and management.

Boards set the direction for the companies they govern and play a very important role in engaging with various business stakeholders. For boards to play their role effectively, they must be clear about their responsibilities and stakeholder expectations.

The individual qualifications of  board directors do not necessarily make for effective boards if there are no appropriate supportive structures to facilitate this. Setting up and resourcing essential committees, using modern communication frameworks and creating good intra-board relations is a key part of that.

Many a time businesses say they are implementing corporate governance best practices, but who really knows that they do. Stakeholders need assurances that boards are doing what they say they are doing which is why auditing such companies and publishing the outcomes goes a long way in enhancing stakeholder confidence.

Performance management at all levels of the organisation is key to success now and in the future. Boards must set the example by assessing their own performance through regular structured evaluations and candidly discuss the evaluation outcomes and set targets for  performance improvement  going forward.

Boards represent investor interests and are empowered by shareholders to engage with various stakeholders  for the good of the organisation. Having regular and structured engagement is very important within a collaborative communication environment.

Meetings can be very frustrating if not managed properly; and board meetings have every chance of dropping into this pitfall if clear procedures are not in place to ensure smooth running. Having a chair who is on top of his game, a clear agenda, essential information for decision-making and observing punctuality are some of the essentials to making it work.