Braving the Financial Crisis with Good Governance
As an international financial and business hub, Hong Kong is bound to take its share of the sweeping impact of the global financial crisis.
During this difficult time, it is imperative that enterprises and business people maintain good governance standards.
Over the years, Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has observed that companies with sound risk management and good governance are more likely to survive in bad times and recover at a faster pace.
"In the business context, excessive greed of the management and senior staff, attempts to cover up irregularities, and inadequate internal monitoring are the major causes leading to graft and other criminal acts," said ICAC Commissioner Dr. Timothy Tong Hin-ming.
Dr. Tong was speaking at the recent, "Conference on Corporate Governance in the Financial Sector" by the ICAC, the Mainland of China's Ministry of Supervision, and the Commission Against Corruption of Macao.
The conference was attended by about 300 corporate leaders and representatives of regulatory bodies.
A corruption prevention guidebook for listed companies and a toolkit on directors' ethics were launched at the conference, followed by seminars and workshops for directors and professionals to foster their awareness of corporate governance.
The "Toolkit on Directors' Ethics" introduces a 4-A model for ethical leadership: awareness, assessment, action and assistance. Apart from relevant ordinances, regulations and guidelines, the toolkit also includes user-friendly checklists of ethical behaviors for various posts, and a sample corporate code of conduct.
The "Corruption Prevention Guide for Listed Companies" offers practical corruption prevention advice to help companies build stringent internal control systems to minimize corruption risks.
In response to the current financial crisis, the ICAC has deployed added resources to strengthen its capability to investigate complex commercial graft cases and to promote good corporate governance amongst enterprises.
Since its inception in 1974, the Independent Commission Against Corruption has embraced a three-pronged approach of law enforcement, prevention and community education. With the support of the Hong Kong government and the community, Hong Kong has become one of the cleanest places in the world.
Toolkit on Directors’ Ethics: http://www.icac.org.hk/filemanager/en/Content_1235/director_ethics.pdf
Corruption Prevention Guide for Listed Companies: http://www.icac.org.hk/filemanager/en/Content_1031/listed_comp.pdf
Independent Commission Against Corruption: http://www.icac.org.hk/
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