South Africa: King IV final report to be published next week

Earlier this year the Institute of Directors and King Committee published for public comment a draft version of the latest King Report and Code on corporate governance in South Africa (King IV): see here (pdf). The final version of the Report and Code will be published next week, on November 1, at the King IV conference.

Mauritius: 'apply and explain' and a new governance code

The National Committee on Corporate Governance has published for public comment a draft of a new corporate governance code: see here (pdf). The code contains eight mandatory principles with supporting guidance and recommendations and, to quote from page six of the document containing the Code, it is:

Based on a philosophy of application coupled with disclosure, the Code employs an ‘apply-and-explain’ methodology. The Code of Corporate Governance for Mauritius is the first to adopt this new approach to corporate governance. This is a departure from the ‘comply-or-explain’ approach associated with the Cadbury Report in the UK (1992) and the ‘apply-or-explain’ approach associated with the Dutch Tabaksblat Code of Corporate Governance (2004) and the King III Report in South Africa (2009)."

A couple of comments (not intended, in any way, as criticism). First, a draft of South Africa's new corporate governance code - known as King IV - was published earlier this year and this adopts 'apply and explain'. Second, useful as these labels may be in describing an ethos or tradition, do they fully capture the way in which governance codes and frameworks operate in practice?  For example, is the approach proposed for Mauritius very different from that in the United Kingdom where Listing Rule 9.8.6 requires listed companies to apply the Main Principles of the UK Corporate Governance Code and to provide information about their compliance (or not) with the Code's provisions?

South Africa: draft King IV report and code on corporate governance published

The Institute of Directors and King Committee have published for public comment a draft version of the latest King Report and Code on corporate governance in South Africa (King IV): see here (pdf). The report sets out the philosophy, principles, practices and outcomes that provide the benchmark for corporate governance in South Africa.

The draft version states that no significant departures are proposed from the philosophical underpinnings of King III; a refining of concepts is instead outlined. This said, King IV is based on 'apply and explain', whereas King III was based on 'apply or explain'. The report makes clear that it is expected that companies will apply all of the principles in the King IV Code, with explanations provided of the practices that have been adopted in doing so. Whilst the principles are described as aspirations or ideals, they are regarded as basic to good governance.

South Africa: King IV code - progress report

An update on the work being undertaken in South Africa to produce a new corporate governance code - to be known as King IV - has been published by the Institute of Directors: see here (pdf).