Opinion

Top-class firm governance

By John Zinkin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-28 11:00

As Asian companies become increasingly global it becomes essential that they implement world-class standards of corporate governance. This timely book from acclaimed expert John Zinkin explains the most effective methods for ensuring that adequate measures are put in place.

Challenges in Implementing Corporate Governance: Whose Business Is It Anyway? aims to help board members of publicly-listed companies focus on what really matters. Author John Zinkin has committed the last three decades of his career to promoting and implementing good corporate governance in Asia. Treating governance issues with the Asian practitioner in mind, Zinkin distills his many years of experience and best of insights into this single, authoritative volume.

This book deftly tackles the two main challenges facing board members and senior management in Asian firms - cross-cultural differences when adopting Western codes of corporate governance, and the difficulty in translating conformance or compliance (as necessitated by regulators) into good performance (as demanded by shareholders). It then shows how to make corporate governance operational, using extensive Asian examples as well as familiar Western case studies to illustrate the concept. Other germane topics addressed in the book include the four key factors that will help organizations move from good governance to good results, as well as effective and practical risk management strategies for companies.

Compelling, instructive and practical, this book is a must-read for any board representative serious about a "licence to operate".