Governance is defined as a set of policies, procedures, processes, systems, people and relationships that govern the enterprise to direct and control the actions of issuers. This includes the relationships between an issuer’s shareholders, board of directors, senior management, internal and external audit, and the mechanisms for holding issuers and the board and executive officers accountable.
“Corporate governance” has been viewed as what the board of directors does when providing oversight on strategy, policy, performance and transparency matters. This document can be used as a guide to assessing and understanding the four pillars of an organization’s governance framework. There are different ways to accomplish effective governance, and each organization must develop its own approach based on its organizational structure, culture, capabilities, maturity and processes. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to corporate governance. Each organization must thoughtfully consider what it wants to achieve and how to achieve it.