The Practice of Corporate Governance

All corporate entities, from the largest multinational conglomerate to the smallest tennis club, need effective governance. Some features of corporate governance are basic, common to all corporate entities: every governing body needs to think strategically and set policies to supervise ongoing management activities to ensure the entity is financially viable and is achieving its objectives.

Every corporate entity has a governing body, whether it is called a board of directors, a committee, a council, or anything else. Many people, when appointed to the governing body of an organisation, have little idea of what to expect and what is expected of them. Even those with board-level experience find that the culture and leadership style of other governing bodies differ. The aim of this book is to help them understand and improve their contribution to the organisation and governing body they serve. The book is a simple guide to the work of every board member.

Each chapter concludes with a worksheet, which enables readers to apply the ideas in that chapter to their own organisation. On completing the book, readers will have a detailed analysis of the governance of their own organisation.

Effective governance improves performance and ensures long-term success. This book offers a straightforward guide to the fundamental work of governing bodies and the people who serve on them.

Bob Tricker left school at 16, qualified as a Chartered Accountant, served as an officer in the Royal Navy, was Financial Controller of the British subsidiary of an American steel company, then studied at Harvard and Oxford Universities. His research as a Research Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford produced the book ’Corporate Governance’ (1984), the first with that title. He has held professorial appointments at universities in Hong Kong, Melbourne, New York, Oxford, Sydney, and Warwick. He now lives in Devon, continues to write, and has been the Deputy Launch Authority for the Torbay lifeboat and crewed on Brixham’s heritage sailing trawlers.