Increasing board accountability

THE past year has had its fair share of corporate scandals and breaches of conduct by senior management.

Some of these arose out of personal greed but there are also instances where employees brushed aside laws and regulations in order to meet their revenue targets or achieve their key performance indicators.

Admittedly, the business environment is getting tougher, with the emergence of new technologies and consequential disruption to traditional business models. Globally, the displacement of human capital, widening income inequality, and growing pressure for sustainable business practices have increased the scrutiny on board accountability.

Principle 1 of the revised Code of Corporate Governance (the Code) released in August 2018 provides that a company "is headed by an effective board which is collectively responsible and works with …