Corporate Governance Leadership Program: Assessment Stimulates Program Thrust, April 2008

To assist developing countries, the Forum devised Leadership programs for corporate governance trainers. Based on global best practices, these programs seek to enhance board directors' competencies and skill levels.
 
This has led to our next phase of work, with the production of the Corporate Governance Board Leadership Training Resources toolkit. From this enormous undertaking, more comprehensive materials, training presentations, case studies, teaching guides, and revised audio/visual CD-ROMs have been developed to fulfill the overwhelming demand for more regional and country-specific activities and curriculum.

Bulgaria Launches Corporate Governance Code, February 2008

On the brink of Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union, a task force comprised of private and public experts was set up to develop a national Corporate Governance Code.

The Forum had previously published a Toolkit (Corporate Governance Reform Toolkit), which provides extensive practical experiences from developed and developing countries on how to develop and implement corporate governance codes.

“Building on the global expertise we complied in this toolkit, we provided the Bulgarian team with best practices and technical advice,” said Maria-Laurence guy, a senior projects officer with the Forum.

Best practice codes are much more flexible than laws and should be reviewed and updated regularly to address issues unforeseen during the drafting process and to remain relevant. Bulgaria’s financial Supervision Commission (FSC) has, therefore, asked that the task force remain as a Standing Corporate Governance Commission to monitor progress and update the cold’s content in 18 months so that it reflects changes in corporate practice and legislation. Panama’s Experience Shows Importance in Defining Objectives, Attracting Committed Supporters, Exerting Leadership, December 2007

In April 2007, 15 business leaders formed the Institute of Corporate Governance-Panama due to the Forum’s counsel and support. After many deliberations, the Institute defined its mission and objectives.

“This process helped us to formalize how the Institute’s leadership would work together and make decisions. Having beneficial goals we all understood was an important foundation in establishing a process through which we could work together to reach a consensus and resolve conflicts” said Milton Chambonett, an Institute founding director and founder of Chambonett & Asociados, an accounting firm.

The founders have been using the Forum’s toolkit to help share the process of the making key decisions in the Institute’s first year. “As we go through the steps, we find the toolkit’s ‘tips’ to be invaluable,” said Julieta Rodriguez Molina, the Institute’s founding secretary and an associate attorney at Galindo, Arias and Lopez.
Launching an Institute of Directors in Mozambique:
Business Leaders Drive effort to Advance Good Governance, October 2007

Mozambique needs to attract investors to realize the opportunities emerging in the global economy. That need for capital drove the country’s business leaders to seek improve their boards. To achieve this goal, Benjamim Pequenino, CEO, Governance Development Institute of Mozambique (GDI) and Mondlane drove the establishment of a founders committee, , composed of prominent leaders in the country’s private sector. Their initial support underscored the importance and necessity of improving corporate governance policies and practices.

As the committee broadened and strengthened support for corporate governance within the business community and government, its members developed and executed a business plan, with assistance from local management consultants, the IFC Private Enterprise Partnership for Africa, and the Global Corporate Governance Forum.

“The Forum toolkit for IoDs was our roadmap, laying out the steps we needed to follow for our institute’s launch and ongoing administration,” said Pequenino. “Having the support and counsel of the IFC enabled us to learn from the experiences of others-----the mistakes and the successes.”

As a result, the institutes’s first workshop in June 2007 drew more than 250 members of the business community, introducing them to corporate governance and the supporting evidence. The workshop’s curriculum involved the IFC and the Forum.