The second phase – implementation stage – of the National Corporate Governance Code has been launched by the Institute of Directors-Ghana (IoD-Gh) in Accra.
Developed in 2021, the objective is to set a national standard of best corporate governance principles and practices while recognising and endorsing existing corporate governance codes in the country. It also seeks to develop new corporate governance codes for sectors without codes, and promote Ghanaian values as well as national and global developmental goals.
The code’s implementation strategy comprises four key components namely – engagement and promotion; educational curricula embedment; capacity building and training; and monitoring, evaluation, impact and awards.
“What we have done today is implement the code and look at how we can effectively implement it further across sectors and regions in the country to create awareness. The second component is embedding the code in the national curriculum, which hopefully will bring about behavioural change right from primary schools all the way to tertiary institutions. The third component is capacity building, and in this regard we hope to translate the code into a training manual to train directors and managers in different sectors of different organisations.
“With the fourth one, we look forward to measuring how the code is being implemented to ascertain what the challenges are; and to find out whether the implementation is bringing about improvement in governance standards, while also offering rewards for excellence in its application in practice – as well as use those feedbacks to update the code on a regular basis,” said Collins Ntim, Professor of Accounting at the University of Southampton Business School-UK, and chairman of the technical committee that drafted the code.
Ghana became the 21st in a list of 20 countries on the African continent to have developed a national corporate governance code when it was launched for implementation on 13th December 2022, after its approval in November the same year by the IoD council.
He added that the code’s aspiration is not only to promote democracy, good governance, social justice, human rights and dignity, but also foster enterprise development and entrepreneurship.
Commenting on key structures of the code’s implementation committee, he noted that it comprises over 40 members drawn from a broad group of stakeholders; such as banking, insurance, education, the public sector, informal sector and other professional bodies.
“Apart from having a fundraising sub-committee that raises and drives funds to support the project, we also have a publicity and promotion sub-committee leveraging traditional and social media to promote the committees’ activities,” he further said.
He explained that the code has five key pillars – purpose, leadership, controls, genuine disclosures and humane engagement anchored on the three core values of patriotism, accountability and responsibility.
“The pillar of purpose means the organisation must have a clearly-defined purpose that shapes its values, culture, strategy and practices,” he said.
On the pillar of leadership, the Professor of Accounting noted the organisation must have a governing body that operates with integrity and selflessly works to achieve the organisational purpose, as well as champions its survival and long-term growth – adding that in terms of the pillar of controls, it must have comprehensive and robust systems to manage risks, operate sound internal controls, safeguard assets and other resources from fraud inter alia.
The pillar of genuine disclosures meanwhile requires the organisation to operate in a transparent and open manner, and implement a genuine disclosure framework that will enable outside parties – such as investors – to hold the executive accountable for their actions and decisions.
He said that humane engagement obligates the organisation to humanely engage with its stakeholders in a manner that inspires trust, care and mutual respect.
According to him, the code is development-oriented, incorporates international best practices, respects differences and reflects Ghanaian values.
The launch took place during the institute’s stakeholders’ engagement meeting. The event also saw the 6th IoD-Gh Directors’ Conference and Corporate Governance Excellence Awards launch, and induction of candidates into membership.
The vision of IoD-Gh is to become the leading reference point for directorship and best practices in corporate governance, and its mission is to represent directors’ interests and facilitate their professional development and training in good corporate governance practices.
