Corporate governance indispensable in new world order – SCGN

The Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria (SCGN) has advised business leaders to be digitally savvy for effectiveness of the Board and the organisations at large.

At a breakfast event event with the theme of the meeting “The Futureproof Board: Corporate Governance in the Digital Era”, stakeholders highlighted the fact that training and education of Board members on Corporate Governance and technology cannot be overemphasized as it makes for futureproof boards and organizations particularly in this digital era.

The President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Muhammad Ahmad expressed the need to equip the board of directors of companies and other stakeholders for the digital era.

He noted that there is a need for a Corporate Governance framework for startups, SMEs as well as the required technology to improve effectiveness and sustainability of these companies.

In the keynote speech delivered by the CEO of the society, Chioma Mordi explained that digital tools play a major role for administrative units including boards, as corporate governance strategies require technology, knowledge, and management processes to promote transparency in organisations.

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Mordi stated that the world is evolving and the pandemic heightened the digital awareness and usage for business operations, meetings, and remote work, which has steadily become the order of the day.

According to her, while digital tools enhance processes, there are some challenges that accompany their utilisation in organisations such as security breaches and reputational risks.

“Learning & development and upskilling strategies, as well as full restructuring, must also be considered when thinking about future-proofing an organisation,” Mordi added.

Fabian Ajogwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria said “tech startups are designed to stay for long, to be sustainable they have to be properly managed and well-governed.”

“Before they can access funds or go public, people need to know they can run the company well which is what society for corporate governance Nigeria offers to new start-ups,” He added.

“The society for corporate governance Nigeria will continue to create contact that will be shared across our digital channels, we are also completely revamping our social media channels to ensure the society at large has access to information about corporate governance,” said Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho CEO of Future Software Resources Ltd.