I believe there are four pillars to governance: accountability,
transparency, integrity and stewardship. The board sets the culture
of an organisation and it must make sure that all of the process
and structures that can define accountability are in place –
this is a universal principle of governance. It has got to operate
in a manner that is transparent, and that is universal too. You
cannot argue with acting with integrity and every organisation has
to look to the future in order to be sustainable. The more
country-specific measures come after the pillars are
implemented.
Looking ahead, the future holds even greater challenges for
those working in governance roles. The public will have
ever-increasing expectations of the role that companies play in
society. They will also have greater expectations on what the
governance of companies delivers in terms of services. Governance
professionals are going to be at the centre of this – they
must promote accountability,
