Good corporate governance help cos achieve better financial results: Survey

Over 95 percent of businesses have said good corporate governance practices help organizations achieve better operational and financial results, according to a survey. Besides, 93 percent corporates identified culture as an important catalyst for implementing strong corporate governance, the survey, conducted jointly by Grant Thornton and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), said.

The survey covered 107 companies across industries between October 2019 and November 2019. As many as 75 percent of the respondents believe that mandatory corporate governance practices should be extended to unlisted companies, it added.

Stressing on the significance of promoting diversity on boards, 88 percent of the total firms surveyed said their organization has a woman director on the board. The other parameters taken in the survey include the absence of formal training programs on corporate governance for the board of directors and key managerial personnel, cost of implementation as major challenges in implementing corporate governance practices, the role of technology in improving the corporate governance practices, among others.

"While compliance with laws and regulation must form a part of any governance framework, there is an opportunity for progressive boards to broadly work on better corporate governance practices. This includes promoting a culture of integrity and ethics, tapping into key stakeholder groups and creating enough scope for debate and dissent," said Dinesh Anand, partner, Grant Thornton India LLP.