Importance of corporate governance underlined

Good corporate governance is the key to develop a market economy and civil society in transitioning economies. These views were expressed by Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Chairman Shaukat Tarin.
He was speaking at a roundtable on findings of the "Survey of corporate governance practices in Pakistan", commissioned by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance and conducted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Pakistan (ACCA) here on Thursday.
The survey is expected to provide a baseline for future corporate governance reforms and initiatives under the IFC's Pakistan corporate governance project. Tarin said that the stock exchanges could play an important role in the implementation and enhancement of best practices of corporate governance.
"The survey will give us an idea of corporate governance practices in the country, thus further enhancing our understanding resulting in more effective implementation of corporate governance practices", he added.
Speaking next, Manager, Pakistan Corporate Governance Project, International Finance Corporation, Kaiser Naseem, outlined the various initiatives of the IFC corporate governance project.
He said the IFC corporate governance project would be instrumental in enhancing the corporate governance standards and practices in Pakistan. The board development series, initiated by the IFC and Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG) would go a long way in developing awareness of corporate governance practices and refreshing skills and knowledge of executives and directors responsible for overseeing or implementing corporate governance practices, he added.
The roundtable was also addressed by President of Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance Zahid Zaheer, and head of ACCA Pakistan Arif Masud Mirza. Dr Afra Sajjad, head of Policy Development of ACCA, Pakistan, outlined the key findings and recommendations of the survey.
The survey of corporate governance practices aims at providing a snapshot of the corporate governance practices of local listed companies relating to board practices, minority shareholders rights protection, information disclosure and transparency, control framework and risk management as well as outline recommendations for future corporate governance reforms.
The recommendations relate to review of code of corporate governance, ensuring sustainability of the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance, developing corporate governance resources, comply with or explain approach to inclusion of independent non-executive directors on the board of directors, monitoring of minority shareholders' rights protection, monitoring of disclosure of related party transactions and conflict of interest, development of local guidance for IFRS, awareness seminars for making the business community aware of the business case for corporate governance and strengthening the role of regulator, stock exchanges and courts for effective monitoring of implementation of corporate governance practices in the country.
The event was well attended by diverse stakeholders, who provided valuable feedback on the recommendations of the survey that would help finalisation of the report.