Improving governance disclosures to drive value

BASED on the recent SGX-KPMG Corporate Governance Study, mainboard-listed companies should take heart about the positive state of their corporate governance disclosures.

That said, the study also found that more can be done to improve the consistency in the completeness and quality of those disclosures. Many companies appear to view the matter as a compliance-driven exercise - disclosing only the minimum level of detail. Other companies view disclosures as a driver of value, and choose to provide more forthcoming and specific details.

The latter approach enables companies to engage with stakeholders and investors in a way that demonstrates good governance, or indicates areas they are focused on improving. The benefit of such an approach in terms of value-add is clear: In a fiercely competitive environment for investor funds, greater transparency is seen to build trust, increase levels of investment, and positively influence share price.