Dr Gerry Gallagher presented a masterclass this morning about Corporate Governance, not just from the perspective of compliance but more importantly, how good corporate governance can contribute to the performance of all organisations, across all sectors of society. 

Governance is under the spotlight in recent times and we will see that our understanding of what good governance entails needs to be challenged, particularly in regard to accountability. There is now a great deal of legislation in place which places a great deal of responsibility of company directors, and people are rightly concerned about developing a greater awareness of these responsibilities.

However, all organisations have a purpose – a reason why they exist. Complying with regulations is not an end in itself but the real benefit of governance in the public sector and the private sector is to steer the organisation towards achieving its true purpose and delivering value to all its stakeholders and with all its stakeholders.

Governance is ultimately about providing leadership to the organisation and ensuring not just that it meets all its legal requirements but that it galvanises all aspects of the organisation to achieve long-term sustainability and performance.