The role of boards in good corporate governance cannot be over-emphasized. Beyond providing oversight, insight, and foresight, the board takes strategic decisions which trickle down to others.
In its bid to promote and develop effective leadership teams that make effective decisions to deliver the best results, the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria held its 2022 corporate governance Conference with a focus on the theme: Digital, Diversity, and Inclusion: Evolving trends in Governance and Board Culture.
In this interview with Nairametrics, the CEO of Society for Corporate Governance in Nigeria Chioma Mordi, touched on the event as well as trends in corporate governance in the digital age.
Nairametrics: What is the idea behind the theme for this year?
Chioma Mordi: It came as a result of the trends around global practice and boardroom discussion with regard to corporate governance. There is a need for Boards to begin to think differently in terms of reward renewals, and award appointments, including the young in their board meetings, including the right skill sets in their departments as businesses and the world at large. So, the Board needs to also be at the forefront in terms of the discussion in certain cultures for inclusiveness, for digitalization, and the need for directors to be conversant with that ecosystem and that’s basically what the corporate governance conference is about.
Nairametrics: what extent does an effective board determine the success of an organization?
Chioma Mordi: The board is the leadership. They have the oversight function of organizations. They take strategic decisions for an organization, for management. Therefore, it’s important for people with that kind of responsibility to be effective because their decision will be passed down to management, and management would pass them to the other staff of the organization.
So, if they’re not effective and they make an ineffective decision, it trickles down to the whole organization and the results will show that ineffectiveness. So, it’s important for the board to be effective. One thing we look out for is the composition of that board in terms of skill sets, in terms of the structure as a whole. It’s not just about the female and male ratio. Yes, that is an important thing to consider, but the skill set these directors have, is also very important for an effective course.
Nairametrics: How can unethical behaviors that flow from the top be tackled?
Chioma Mordi: At the board level, we need to be conscious of conflict of interest as well as independence in terms of our judgments when making decisions. Whether you are taking decisions based on the company’s interest or your own personal interests is a subtle subject that the board needs to be careful about as it may in turn lead to corruption.
Corporate governance in terms of ethics and transparency cannot be over-emphasized. There is a need for the board to be aware of conflicts of interest and transparency in terms of their dealings. They need to be aware of accountability because they are accountable to the shareholders of the company, and the economy at large. So, it’s important for them to imbibe these corporate governance principles right in the board or the organization that they sit on.
Nairametrics: What can organizations do to retain the skilled set of people leaving the country en masse?
Chioma Mordi: For me, my advice or recommendation would be to let that subject become an important board discussion. I am sure before now most boards don’t really have this kind of discussion with regard to capacity and human resources. But It’s one of the evolving trends that’s happening in the corporate world. Here in Nigeria where we have a lot of migration out of the country, my recommendation would be to make it a board discussion where boards can work with management to put the right framework in place so that we can retain these skill sets – so we can motivate these resources to stay and deliver in terms of the objective of the organization.
Nairametrics: How do you perceive the ease of doing business in Nigeria?
Chioma Mordi: I would say we are getting there definitely because the regulators are trying in terms of creative initiatives that help businesses in establishing a corporation. I think it’s more of the regulatory perspective around the ease of doing business. I feel that we are on the right path – although, we are not there yet, we’re on the right path.
Nairametrics: What do you have to say about the female folks breaking the glass ceiling in recent times?
Chioma Mordi: I’m excited that we are breaking boundaries to take on roles that have been stereotyped. I see that we are doing very well. This shows that women are capable, women are skilled and women can do as much.
Nairametrics: Inclusion has taken a different dimension recently as young people have now become a part of the decision-making in organizations. Is this something sustainable?
Chioma Mordi: I think it is with the rights guidance from the board. for me, age is just a number and I feel that everybody can do whatever they set out if they have the right mindset, the right skill set, and experience and also with the guidance of the board. I think that young CEOs can do over and beyond.
Nairametrics: In this digital age, what are the basic values a leader should uphold?
Chioma Mordi: For me, it is more about accountability, and transparency and I also think that we should look at the protection of data. We need to take data protection seriously. We also need to look at cyber security and cyber risk that digitalization has brought about. So, companies are more exposed now to some certain level of risk that normally we didn’t have.
Nairametrics: Your advice for small-scale businesses
Chioma Mordi: In terms of their board structure, I think that if they want to grow, they need to begin to look at doing things right. Documentation is very important. Document your in-and-out in terms of your finances. Also, there should be a clear separation of your business from your personal activity. That is the way for small-scale or small and medium businesses to succeed.
Doing so gives the opportunity to grow into a large-scale business whilst also guaranteeing sustainability and continuity.