Good governance is critical in the development of an economy which benefits all sectors of society. In particular, good governance helps the poorest people in society. All organisational governing bodies should practice it if they want to be responsible, productive and ethical contributors to the economy.
Good governance improves the lives of the poor because it enables organisations to operate effectively which leads to wealth and value creation. It stimulates foreign investment which leads to job creation. Employment means that low-income households have a more stable income structure giving them more money to live on and spend. Importantly, improving the lives of the poor by enhancing job creation empowers people and upholds personal dignity. Further, organisational wealth that is responsibly re-distributed can really benefit the lives of the poor.
How do you implement good governance?
The King Code and Report provides guidelines for implementing good governance in your organisation. The King Code sets out what ethical and effective leadership is and how to achieve that in your organisation. It also outlines how you can use it to increase value, enhance legitimacy and improve your organisation’s reputation. The current version is King IV which was released on the 1st of November 2016. The King Code principles are for all organisations including private, public and listed organisations. All organisations can benefit from following the King IV™ principles which are available from the Institute of Directors.
King IV™ promotes good governance by focusing on a principle-and-outcome approach to compliance and greater transparency in organisations, especially with regard to the remuneration of directors.
King IV™ makes it clear that good governance enables society to grow and that it can benefit the sectors of society that need it most. This has a knock-on effect of ultimately improving access to critical resources such as education and healthcare.
Corruption is the exact opposite because it channels wealth and opportunity away from those sectors of society that need it most. Therefore, we are anti-corruption!
We are passionate about using the law to improve and empower society therefore we support organisations that embrace the King Code principles.
Actions you can take:
- Improve governance in your business with the King IV™ principles by consulting with us and;
- Increase your awareness on good governance by attending a practical workshop on IT GRC;
- Promote anti-corruption and transparency in your organisation by asking us to draft a whistle-blowing policy; and
- Reduce your bribery and corruption profile by asking us to draft an anti-bribery and corruption policy.
Note: The Institute of Directors in Southern Africa NPC (IoDSA) owns the copyright to all four of the King reports or codes on governance (including the latest version namely the King IV Report™) and owns various trademarks in relation to King IV (including King IV™, King IV Report™, King IV Report on Corporate Governance™ and King IV Code™). All of the IoDSA’s rights are reserved. All views are our own and we are not associated or endorsed in any way by the IoDSA.
