CED holds Corporate Governance workshop

Business Managers and members of Boards of Directors here are now more well versed on Corporate Government issues after attending a CED Corporate Governance workshop.{{more}}

The workshop took place on Wednesday, December 8, 2010, at the NIS conference room. It was organized by the CED through its Business Gateway Project Programme and featured facilitators from the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange (ECSE).

The workshop featured sessions on Corporate Governance, Roles of the Board of Directors and Business Issues for Directors and was held under the theme “An Introduction to the Governance of Corporations.”

Facilitator Trevor Blake, General Manager of ECSE, speaking on Corporate Governance, highlighted several points such as the meaning of Corporate Governance, the importance of corporate governance, and its principles for Caribbean Countries.

Blake stated that Corporate Governance refers to the processes, the structures and the information used for directly overseeing the management of an institution. He further explained that Governance speaks to all the issues in the corporate company. “The relationship between its management, staff, its stakeholders, shareholders and customers-anyone within the environment that the business operates.” Blake explained.

He added that governance is important as companies should have good governing standards if they are to function properly. Blake also stated that governance is important as it facilitates economic growth, it acts as an effective regulatory tool and it is necessary to attract investment flows, among other things.

Blake also quoted findings from a Calderon Survey done in the OECS on Public Companies. Blake identified several strengths which were documented by the survey which included a functioning internal audit, a functioning and effective audit committee and the presence of an independent chairman, among others.

Meanwhile, the rotation of independent auditors within the companies and the independence of the chairman and members of the audit committee were highlighted as issues that needed additional attention.

The workshop also included presentations by facilitators His Excellency Ambassador Wendell Lawrence, Financial Consultant and Managing Partner of Caribbean Consulting Group, and Dr. Valda Henry, a chartered Financial Analyst.

The workshop ended with a final panel, which synthesized the concepts considered during the day and examined current initiatives in the region.