Corporate Governance

Organisations create enormous national wealth and they also have tremendous power to change society. There is a possibility of expropriation of the created wealth and wealth-creating assets by those in operational control of the organisation. Therefore, it is in society’s interest to both monitor the firms and limit any devious practices if observed. Both businesses and government have to work together to explore and implement new ways in which they can grow and prosper into the future in a manner that protects the interests of firms, society, and the natural environment. All organisations, for-profit and non-profit, small and large, private and public, need governance mechanisms that monitor and incentivise their top management team (TMT). The compelling reason for learning good corporate governance practices is best exemplified by the recent challenges faced by the Tata Sons and Infosys boards, growing incidence of corporate failures and misdemeanors such as those in Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Lehman Brothers, and Satyam, and an equally growing concern for good corporate governance practices.

Some questions that we will try to answer are:

1. What are the major aspects of corporate governance?
2. How do we measure corporate performance? What do we want and how do we determine how far we have achieved it?
3. What are the theoretical frameworks used to explain corporate governance practices?
4. What are the compliance requirements in India?
5. What are the fiduciary and compliance responsibilities of directors?
6. What are the board responsibilities, structures, systems, and procedures? 
7. What are the issues that are influencing corporate governance and board thinking in current times?