INTRODUCTION
For an extended period, organisations’ primary focus was creating value for their shareholders; therefore, it was the belief that an organisation was thriving if its shareholders made a lot of profit, no matter the cost. This focus led to general dissatisfaction amongst members of the public, leading to discussions on the focus of businesses and their purpose. These discussions evoked conversations on acceptable standards of corporate governance to cater to the interests of an organisation’s shareholders and other stakeholders.
The collapse of Lehman Brothers, Enron, and the global financial crisis (GFC) in 2008 led to a turning point in the governance of organisations. These world-shaking events became an eye-opener on the effects of poor corporate governance in most organisations. To avoid a repeat of these incidences, various organisations and agencies started developing different mechanisms to strengthen corporate governance, internal control systems, risk management, and compliance.
With renewed attention to compliance, Boards began to focus on value management and protection by formally reviewing compliance obligations. Compliance is thus an essential part of corporate governance as it concerns the procedure by which an organisation seeks to ensure that employees and other stakeholders conform to applicable norms.
Compliance also includes substantive regulatory statutes, guidance from administrative agencies, codes of conduct, corporate rules, and other governing models.
Due to the number of regulations requiring compliance, compliance has become a prevalent business concern, requiring companies to be intentional and alert in fully understanding their regulatory requirements for compliance. To adhere to compliance standards, an organisation must follow requirements or regulations imposed by either itself or government legislation.
In discussing corporate governance and compliance excellence, the interrelation between corporate governance and compliance, the role of the Company Secretary in ensuring good corporate governance and compliance excellence, and regulatory filings under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, (“CAMA”) 2020 will be addressed.
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