King IV & Corporate Governance

The New King has come – changes, challenges, and practical application Programme seeks to address the wide scope of Director and Board Responsibilities and activities in a practical, engaging way to facilitate the application of the underlying principles to each and every company or entity in a way that moves each one forward. The focus on ‘good corporate governance’ continues! With the spotlight once again pointing to numerous examples of ‘bad governance’ or ‘governance failure’ people continue to ask themselves how do we do ‘good governance’? At the same time in South Africa we have seen the latest King Code of Corporate Governance™ launched (on 1 November 2016) and once again the question is being asked ‘what do these principles actually look like in my businesses? The many changes, twists and turns throughout 2016 that have also introduced new levels of risk and uncertainty into the organizational operating environment. Things will never (quite) be the same again – it is no good longing for, or returning to, the way things were – since they will never be the same. At the same time we have seen significant changes in both legislation and standards, codes of governance and broader expectations on both companies and more specifically on those who lead them. It is becoming more and more evident that directors, auditors, and other officers of companies who FAIL to educate themselves about AND acquaint themselves with, AND apply the principles of corporate governance will be hard pressed, if things go wrong, to answer the charge that they FAILED to take reasonable steps to comply with their duties of trust and care and diligence. Practically, good governance is simply good business! And good business requires good directors who fully understand the full scope of Directors Duties and Board Responsibilities and know, not only the theory of these, but also the practical aspects of Board Performance and Dynamics. We have certainly ended the era of ‘governance as box-ticking’ – since this never has and will never guarantee an effective board. Robust thinking and appropriate application of the principles and recommendations of governance in each specific context (sector, business, operational environment, stakeholder universe etc.) is what needs to be addressed to build an effective board.