Publication Tomorrow’s Corporate Governance: Corporate Governance and Stewardship

Executive Summary

The Good Governance Forum was formed in March 2010. It was created in response to questions raised about corporate governance effectiveness as a result of the financial crisis and subsequent reviews by Sir David Walker and the FRC.

The Forum brings together key businesses, organisations, investors and individuals to explore what good governance means, make practical recommendations to boards and policymakers and create guides and tools for companies. The agenda for the GGF is holistic – it recognises the key interdependencies between the different elements that make for good governance. Each forum output will therefore provide another piece in the jigsaw helping to develop a full toolkit for boards.

Building on the Tomorrow’s Innovation, Risk and Governance report the GGF has, to date, produced three major outputs:

The case for the ‘Board Mandate’ – this publication champions the concept of a ‘mandate’ which sets out the ‘essence’ of the ‘character’ and distinctiveness of the company. We believe that this ‘working charter’ can help boards navigate their way through increasingly choppy waters by facilitating more effective strategic engagement: primarily between executive directors and NEDs to improve board effectiveness, but with the associated benefit that it drives communication externally with the key stakeholders, including investors, government and regulators, and society at large.

Improving the quality of boardroom conversations – this guide focuses on the importance of conversation as the ‘magic dust’ that underpins board effectiveness and considers the ways in which boards strive to get the very best from the skills and abilities around the board table. It also draws on the experience of members of the GGF and the findings of a survey of FTSE 350 board members, facilitated by Korn/Ferry and KPMG.

The boardroom and risk – this report and tool-kit, developed in collaboration with Airmic, describes a new group of potentially catastrophic risks highlighted by recent research, what the roads to ruin and roads to resilience look like and what boards can do to evolve their risk management agenda and more effectively govern risk.

Governing Values – this report, agenda and roadmap developed in collaboration with the City Values Forum is focused on the key role of boards and chairmen, in governing values.

We are delighted that each forum output is being developed with the support of the Chairmen’s Board of The Good Governance Forum – bringing together leading company chairmen, recognising the critical role they play in driving boardroom performance and practice.