Corporate Governance | Factsheets

Good corporate governance is about effectively supervising the management of a company to uphold the company’s integrity, achieve more open and rigorous procedures and ensure legal compliance. Ultimately it should also promote good relations with stakeholders. Since the UK Corporate Governance Code was created, corporate governance has evolved to reflect the changing nature of stakeholder priorities. Most recently, concerns around corporate governance have centred around executive remuneration and gender representation on boards.

This factsheet explores the purpose of corporate governance, and best practice as specified by the UK Corporate Governance Code. It also looks at the roles and responsibilities of the board members as well as the audit, nomination and remuneration committees.

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CIPD viewpoint

What is corporate governance?

Why does corporate governance matter?

Role and composition of the board

Role of the chair

Role of the directors

Role of the committees

Useful contacts and further reading

This factsheet was written by Kerry Gwyther, Head of Commercial Regulatory, TLT LLP, with contributions from Edward Houghton.

Edward Houghton: Human Capital and Metrics Adviser

Edward Houghton is the CIPD's Senior Research Adviser for Human Capital Metrics and Standards. Since joining the institute in 2013 he has been responsible for leading the organisation's human capital research work stream exploring various aspects of human capital management, theory and practice; including the measurement and evaluation of the skills and knowledge of the workforce. He has a particular interest in the role of human capital in driving economic productivity, innovation and corporate social responsibility. Recent publications have included “A duty to care? Evidence of the importance of organisational culture to effective governance and leadership” for the Financial Reporting Council’s Culture Coalition, and “A new approach to line manager mental well-being training in banks” an independent evaluation of the Bank Workers Charity and Mind partnership to deliver mental health awareness training in the UK financial services sector.