Asking well-researched questions, paying careful attention to the answers, and reading through a company’s disclosed information can reveal a lot about a corporation’s health and governance practices.
That’s what Indian journalists learned at recent IFC corporate governance workshops in Delhi and Mumbai.
Offered by the Global Corporate Governance Forum and its partners, the one-day training sessions gave journalists an opportunity to enhance their knowledge of issues such as transparency and disclosure.
Gaining New Insight
Participants gained new insight on governance best practices and accounting and reporting principles, and were given examples of successful investigative business journalism. Good information sources count a lot in breaking important stories.
Faculty for the day-long training program included senior representatives from Infosys and Deloitte and Touche.
Eugene Spiro, the Forum’s Senior Projects Officer, sees an opportunity for IFC by bringing corporate governance issues into sharper focus.
“By engaging with stakeholders, we can help the corporate sector adopt governance best practices on a day-to-day basis,” he noted.
Pratip Kar, advisor to IFC’s corporate governance initiative in India and former Securities and Exchange Board of India executive director, laid emphasis on creating an environment to strengthen corporate governance, which has come into renewed focus due the global financial crisis.
The Role of the Media
“The media plays an important role in raising public awareness and supporting enforcement,” said Daiki Suemitsu, First Finance Secretary at the Japanese Embassy in Delhi.
IFC's corporate governance initiative in India is funded by the government of Japan and is run in partnership with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s National Institute of Securities Markets and the Confederation of Indian Industry. The Global Corporate Governance Forum and its partners conduct programs to reach key players in corporate governance, including board directors, practitioners, academics, and the media.
Over the last two years, IFC has held a series of “training for trainers” programs for corporate directors. The sessions promoted building leadership skills and an active dialogue between regulators and private sector on corporate governance issues. The Forum continues to add momentum to its program in India.
