Governance Lexicon

From the introduction of the book: As corporations have grappled with the complexity of doing business internationally, boards have had not only to adhere to high standards of governance at home but also familiarise themselves with regulations and best practices abroad. The third edition of the Spenser Stuart Governance Lexicon, published in December 2006, continues the Firm’s commitment to helping board directors understand major governance issues and navigate through the intricacies of international codes and regulations. The Lexicon is a practical guide to the patchwork of laws, requirements and guidelines governing the role of the director in 19 key markets. This edition includes four new entries – China, India, Russia and Singapore. The remaining entries– Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America – have been updated. There is also a summary of corporate governance initiatives at key supranational organizations such as the European Union (EU), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank. Each chapter contains a brief history of corporate governance activity in the given country and a section entitled “Hot topics in governance”, which raises some of the issues currently under discussion in that country. There is a summary of the structure, role and composition of the board and its committees and information on independence, terms of service, compensation and the nominations process. Where requirements or recommendations are laid down by legislation or governance codes, these are noted in the text. Finally, Appendix 1 contains the codified/legal definitions of director independence for each country, grouped together for the purpose of comparison.