Worldwide Governance Principles in the Making -- Topic of October 17 CSIA Roundtable

NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In a determined bid to align corporate governance practices worldwide, the peak body for corporate governance globally will host a roundtable in New York on October 17 to develop Universal Corporate Governance Principles.

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According to the Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA) Chair of the Roundtable Mr Peter Turnbull, "The corporate governance landscape has changed dramatically in recent years and corporate secretaries are at the frontline in assisting their organizations to meet these challenges."

CSIA is the world leader in promoting a practical and principles-based approach to governance - to support organisations that may lack the resources to develop sound governance processes and policies themselves.

Globally focused, CSIA is confident that high level and universal principles of good corporate governance can be agreed and applied across all countries, jurisdictions and cultures. Drawing on governance experts around the world, the Universal Corporate Governance Principles will assist organizations to recognize and instil key principles which can be developed over time.

"Good governance does not need to be unduly complex or burdensome," Mr Turnbull said.  "Quite the contrary, good governance principles and processes should be practical, cost-effective and flexible. Any search for a single and rigid set of universal global governance practices is likely to fail.  Instead, the focus is on establishing a set of universal high-level principles that can be applied across multiple jurisdictions."

Speaking of the origins of the Principles, president and chief executive officer of CSIA's United States member organisation, Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals, Kenneth Bertsch added, "The Principles was an outcome from the September 2011 CSIA global corporate governance conference in Shanghai, held in conjunction with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The conference gathered participants from around the world to determine whether eastern and western models of governance could be converged.

"CSIA's role is to ensure that the practice of corporate governance is viewed as a global profession and this can only be achieved through a united and respected force around the world advocating for improving governance frameworks and establishing role of the corporate secretary as the governance professional," Mr Bertsch said.

Roundtable details

Wednesday October 17 2012
10:00am to 1:15pm
Deloitte conference centre
Level 35
1633 Broadway
Between 50^th and 51^st Streets

About Corporate Secretaries International Association

Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA) is a Geneva-based, globally-focused peak body whose goal is to support and improve governance standards across the world and to be the global voice of the corporate secretary.

CSIA derives its strength from the large number of national and territorial organisations that represent corporate secretaries and make up its membership base. Through these member organisations CSIA represents some 100,000 members in 18 countries.

About Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals

Founded in 1946, the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals, Inc. (the "Society") is a non-profit organization (Section 501(c)(6)) comprised principally of corporate secretaries and business executives in governance, ethics and compliance functions at public, private and not-for-profit organizations. Members are responsible for supporting their board of directors and executive management in matters such as board practices, compliance, regulation and legal matters, shareholder relations and subsidiary management.

SOURCE Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals