Integrating Governance

The International Federation of Accountants’ report ‘Integrating Governance for Sustainable Success’, published October 2012, analyses how professional accountants support their organisations in integrating governance into key drivers of sustainable organisational success. The report argues that governance is more than just compliance and that itshould be integrated into all parts of an organisation from strategic planning to value creation. The UK Corporate Governance Code (September 2012) states that the purpose of corporate governance ‘is to facilitate effective, entrepreneurial and prudent management that can deliver the long-term success of the company.’ Gillian Lees, Head of Corporate Governance at CIMA, says that ‘good governance needs to be built into the very fabric of an organisation if it is to support long-term success effectively.’ ‘This new report gives organisations a useful roadmap for making this a reality and shows how some of the tools developed by the Good Governance Forum, such as the board mandate, can contribute.’ As professional accountants have a responsibility to provide ‘objective and accurate information and analyses’ to a range of activities in a business, and are involved in all areas from planning to execution, they are in an excellent position to ensure that governance is built into an organisation’s lifeblood. This report provides illustrative case studies from different countries around the world as well as case studies from different sectors. These include case studies from UPS, Tomorrow’s Good Governance Forum, Unilever, Hong Kong Hospital Authority and Tata Motors. The report also highlights what the drivers of sustainable organisational success are. It highlights the points at which a professional accountant has the means to integrate governance into these drivers.