“GPS System” for Corporate Governance

06 December 2018 00:00

Amidst allegations of corporate misconduct, fraud and bribery, boards of directors of companies are under pressure to ensure that they stay focused and have clear strategic plans around many potential sink-holes.

This within an over legislated and regulated landscape that pushes legal compliance, while compelling organisations to embrace the tenets of corporate governance and corporate accountability. The new King IV Report on Corporate Governance™ (King IV) introduced a shift from a compliance-based mindset to focusing on outcomes as a way of creating value through ethical culture, good performance, effective control and legitimacy.

To help companies navigate the challenging areas of corporate transparency and accountability, LexisNexis has released another edition of one of its most popular reference works on corporate governance.

Corporate Governance - An Essential Guide for South African Companies (Third Edition) by Ramani Naidoo features new chapters on the governance of listed and state-owned companies. It includes the latest JSE Listings Requirements, handy reference tables on key principles of corporate actions and takeover law, guidance on the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and King IV™ sector supplements on SOEs and municipalities and remuneration, with a comparison of global ‘say on pay’ regimes.

“The days of passive, disinterested shareholders are well and truly over,” says Naidoo.  “The publication of King IV in November 2016 has dramatically altered the regulatory and legislative landscape applicable to South African companies,” she adds.

The latest edition of Naidoo’s book sets out and explains, in the same clear, easy-to-read style that was the hallmark of previous editions, the governance principles of the Companies Act of 2008, the JSE Listings Requirements and King IV.  The text uses some 40 illustrative case studies of corporate governance failures – from FIFA to Wells Fargo, the Libor scandal and The Panama Papers.

This third edition is probably the most practical of all of the editions of this book as the author includes pragmatic guidance on day-to-day issues that directors and boards often grapple with.

With new chapters devoted entirely to the governance of state owned entities and listed companies and a series of practical appendices, the book is poised to earn its place on the desks of many busy directors, company executives and students of corporate governance who wish to understand and unpack the dramatic changes brought about by changes in the local and international governance landscape.

Hailing the work, lawyer and renowned corporate governance practitioner J. Michael Judin, said: “Ramani’s outstanding book will become as essential to Corporate Governance practitioners as a GPS system is to the driver of a car on a journey which has many twists and turns.”

Likewise, former Public Protector South Africa, Adv. Thuli Madonsela, called it “a remarkable exposition on corporate governance which is an essential read for those on boards of directors in civil society and the state.”

Corporate Governance – An Essential Guide for South African Companies Third Edition (ISBN: 9780409009484, September 2016) is available in print and e-book versions through the LexisNexis online bookstore at:

https://store.lexisnexis.co.za/categories/law/commercial-law--138/corporate-governance-an-essential-guide-for-south-african-companies-3rd-edition-skuZASKUPG332 at a cost of R612.00 (incl. VAT, excl. delivery).

For more information, or to order a copy, one may also call the LexisNexis customer care line 0860 765 432 or email orders@lexisnexis.co.za.

LexisNexis offers a comprehensive range of research solutions in the area of corporate and commercial law. The web-based Lexis Practical Guidance Corporate Governance, produced in partnership with Cox Yeats Attorneys and ENSafrica, aims to assist companies to remain abreast of the latest corporate governance requirements, with practical, up-to-date guidance, useful templates, guidance notes, checklists and other practical aids and resources to assist in making informed and accurate decisions.

LexisNexis also has the exclusive rights to publish the King IV Report on Corporate Governance™ on behalf of the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoDSA), which owns the intellectual rights to the King Reports and the governance codes they contain.

The King IV Report can be ordered from https://store.lexisnexis.co.za/products/king-iv-report-skuZASKU9780409004366/details at a cost of R426.66.