Fewer than one in 20 Singapore-listed firms disclose external board evaluations: study

[SINGAPORE] Fewer than one in 20 Singapore-listed companies disclosed that they periodically engaged external parties to evaluate their boards or individual directors, corporate governance research has found.

The study, conducted by the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore’s Business School, covered 458 listed companies and found that only 4.4 per cent disclosed such external evaluations.

Its findings were cited by David Gerald, founder of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), or Sias, on Tuesday (Oct 20) at the launch of Sias Corporate Governance Week 2026.

Just 10 per cent disclosed information on succession planning for boards and senior management, while 15.9 per cent disclosed contractual provisions allowing companies to claw back incentive remuneration from executive directors and key management personnel.

Gerald said the findings underscored the need for companies to move beyond merely having governance policies in place.

“The harder question is whether the policy works, whether the board receives independent challenge and whether investors can see evidence that governance influences real decisions,” he said.

The research also found that the average corporate governance score rose marginally from 65.6 per cent in 2025 to 66 per cent in 2026. Gerald noted that the improvement was partly influenced by a shift in the sample towards larger companies.

He said the next step is to make existing governance frameworks more effective through independent scrutiny, succession planning, risk oversight and better-aligned incentives, among other measures.

Speaking at the same event, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Finance and Manpower Shawn Huang also highlighted gaps in corporate disclosures.

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Citing the Singapore Governance and Transparency Index 2026, he noted that only about a third of dividend-paying companies disclosed their dividend policies, while four in 10 companies disclosed the steps their boards had taken to understand shareholders’ views.

“These may appear to be matters of disclosure. But they go to the heart of trust,” said Huang. “Investors want to understand not only the decisions a company has made, but the discipline and reasoning behind those decisions.”

He added that when boards communicate this clearly, “investors are better able to assess the company’s strategy, hold it accountable and commit capital with confidence”.

Huang also stressed that good corporate governance is essential to ensure that companies pursue sustainable growth rather than simply chasing new opportunities.

Citing artificial intelligence investments as an example, he said that boards should assess whether such investments were improving business outcomes and creating lasting value, rather than focusing merely on the number of AI pilots launched, licences purchased or employees trained.

“This is where governance becomes a key value driver,” he said. “It helps companies distinguish real value from costly experimentation.”