The Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA) will release a research report on Monday 22 March recommending 20 practical steps for boards to improve their companies’ corporate governance. The report coincides with the formation of the CSIA which is a Geneva registered body representing more than 70,000 governance professionals in over 70 countries.

“Corporate governance is undergoing much questioning given the serious governance failings that contributed to and sustained the financial crisis,” said Phillip Baldwin, CSIA President and Chief Executive, Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries.

“In response, we are creating a global professional organization – one building on the strengths of national associations that represent corporate secretaries, who are on the front line in helping companies implement best practice corporate governance. Governance is as much about people, as it is about procedures. Corporate secretaries are part of the solution to improve corporate governance practices worldwide.”

[Note: Phillip Baldwin and April Chan, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Company Secretary of CLP Holdings Limited will be available for interview via conference call on Monday 22 March at 10.45 Paris time. They will be joined by Stephen Sadie, Tim Sheehy and David Wilson, CEOs of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries in Southern Africa, Australia and United Kingdom. To dial in, please call 800 933253 (from Hong Kong) 400 681 5425 (from China) 0800 9414 56 (from France) 0800 358 4586 (from UK) and use the participant PIN code which is 823411#.]

CSIA will work to achieve broader recognition of corporate secretaries and governance professionals with worldwide organisations such as the WTO, ILO, OECD, IFC, WorldBank, EU and the UN. It will also promote the study and practice of secretaryship. Full CSIA members include corporate secretary associations and institutes in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Africa, Zimbabwe and UK/Ireland. Affiliate members are located in Canada, New Zealand, and the US.

"The creation of CSIA is an exciting development enabling industry professionals globally to work more effectively together to shape corporate governance and develop unified best practice," said Jeff Sainsbury, EVP, Global Capital Markets, Computershare, a global registrar which provides a wide range of products and services to support the corporate secretaries profession and a CISA founding sponsor.

Written by world-renowned Professor Bob Tricker, the report draws from nine experts’ contributions, including Sir Adrian Cadbury.

The 20 steps include:

• Check that non-executive directors have the necessary skills, experience, and courage, and fully understand the company
• Confirm the board’s sound relationship with management
• Check directors’ access to all the information they need
• Consider whether the board is responsible for formulating strategy
• Recognize that risk governance is a board responsibility
• Monitor board performance and pursue improvement opportunities
• Review relations with shareholders – particularly institutional investors – external auditors, corporate regulators, and societies the company affects
• Ensure that directors’ remuneration packages are justifiable and justified
• Ensure that company secretary’s function is providing value