Guide to corporate governance for private companies launched

The guide outlines the tangible benefits that privately-owned companies, particularly SMEs, can gain from introducing corporate governance structures within their organisations.

"Traditionally privately-owned businesses have tended to view corporate governance as an issue for large listed and multi-national corporations,” said Cian Blackwell, partner with Grant Thornton.

"This approach to corporate governance is born out of a perception that introducing any reforms will be time and cost intensive.

“What many shareholders and managers in privately owned businesses should realise is that good governance can and should be used to maximise the return on investment to shareholders, and that the cost of introducing corporate governance reforms is greatly outweighed by the increased efficiencies and better performance such changes can deliver."

Eamon Moore, managing director of privately-held IT Consultancy, E-MIT Solutions, said for a company of its size, with seven employees, it was at first difficult to see how corporate governance was relevant to its organisation.

“However, when we examined the techniques outlined in the publication, we found that we were in fact already implementing many of the governance practices suggested," he explained..

For instance, E-MIT Solutions has adopted a range of risk management processes to protect against data loss and ensure business continuity and we also have a series of company-wide policies in place which our employees can access, anytime and anywhere, through our company intranet, available through our cloud computing solution.“

The corporate governance practices we have introduced have made doing business far more effective and efficient. And as the needs of the business grow, we recognise the role and value of corporate governance in contributing to our long-term success."