Corporate governance : a framework for implementation - overview

This report is the outcome of a close working partnership between the public, and private sectors. It builds on what has gone before, but broadens its scope, encompassing the widely differing regimes, political, economic, and social, within which corporations carry on their activities worldwide. The report stipulates there can be no single, generally applicable corporate governance model; however, from lessons learned, the Bank Group has set the mechanisms for such an exchange of experience. The report recognizes the complexity of the very concept of corporate governance, and thus focuses on the principles on which it is based. These principles - such as transparency, accountability, fairness, and responsibility - are universal in their application. And, the way these are put into practice, has to be determined by those with responsibility for implementing them. The report emphasizes governance initiatives win most support when driven from the bottom up, rather than from the top down. It reviews why corporate governance matters, by balancing diverging interests, into en internal and external architecture. The internal architecture defines the relationships among key players in the corporation, while the external rules provide a level playing field, keeping players in line, specifying globalization is bringing harmonization. In particular, the report states a mix of regulatory, and private voluntary actions are key to success, through ownership with due diligence as the solution.