SIAS to host Corporate Governance Week 2022 through hybrid meetings focusing on advancing corporate governance in an age of disruptions

● Trends and strategies in managing climate change, ESG risk, and supply chain disruptions through the implementation of good corporate governance principles

● More than 1100 professionals, practitioners, investors, and directors from over 100 companies signed up for SIAS’ Corporate Governance Week Programme 2022

Kuala Lumpur, 27 September 2022 – Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (“SIAS”), a strong advocate for corporate transparency and progressive industry practices aimed at protecting shareholder interests, will be launching Corporate Governance Week (“CG Week 2022”) through a hybrid of physical and digital programmes. In light of the reopening of the economy, this year’s event will be held through a hybrid model for the first time in two years between 7 – 14 October 2022. The live webinars will be helmed by a diverse group of global thought leaders and leading practitioners from Asia-Pacific, United Kingdom, and Europe. 

Mr. David Gerald, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of SIAS shared that businesses are experiencing almost unprecedented disruptions everywhere, ranging from the Russia-Ukraine war and ongoing COVID pandemic, and its many implications. Corporations are forced to adjust in a very short span of time amidst these macro uncertainties. It is during these disruptive times that corporate governance really matters, as decisions made by businesses under these conditions are the ones that would really benefit from the guardrail that good corporate governance provides, amongst others, to ensure that all stakeholders’ long-term interests are protected.

“We also believe disruptions can also lead to opportunities. It gives us the window to re-evaluate how we do things and re-examine if there are better ways of doing it, whether it is in making our supply chain more resilient or aligning our businesses more closely with our ESG targets.

“Looking ahead, there will be many more disruptions ahead of us, unfortunately. That is why the topic for the symposium this year is a timely one. It allows us to reflect on our recent experiences and use them to help shape a more resilient future, guided by the principles of good corporate governance,” said Mr. David. 

The talks and discussions for CG Week 2022, to be delivered over three conferences and four forums, will kick-start on 10 October 2022 on the topic: ESG and Stakeholder Capitalism – How are the investors driving the ESG agenda & what boards should do? The conference will see in-person and virtual participation from more than 100 companies and 300 individuals. A series of engaging presentations and panel discussions on Supply Chain Governance, Review of the OECD/G20 Corporate Governance Principles, Business Integrity Report 2022, Diversity and Performance, the Role of Internal Auditors in Enhancing Corporate Governance, and the Role of ESG in Improving Shareholder Value – will be expounded on by experts. Registrations are still open and will close on 3 October 2022.

The highly topical and relevant discussion on Supply Chain Governance: Rethinking Supply Chains to Drive Growth will take an in-depth look at the potential pitfalls and ways to build future strategies, capabilities, and evolving supply chain models to overcome supply chain disruptions and attain long-term resilience. 

Other interesting trends underscoring the key themes of ESG and sustainability range from the heightened focus on its impact on performance, to the important role of the revisions in the G20/OECD Principles in achieving broader economic objectives with respect to financial stability, investor confidence, and capital formation in times of disruption and crisis.  Experts will also debate on an accelerating sense of urgency around the management of climate change, supply chain disruptions, and other ESG risks, which are prompting new perspectives on the ways that stakeholders must operate to achieve greater resilience, amongst compelling topics in Strengthening Corporate Governance – Review of the OECD/G20 Corporate Governance Principles.

Additional in-depth panel discussions on topics such as Business Integrity Report 2022, Diversity and Performance, and the role of Internal Auditors in Enhancing Corporate Governance will also be held from 11 - 14 October 2022 by leading practitioners.  These sessions will be led by moderators including Mr. Robson Lee, Assistant Honorary Secretary, SIAS and Senior Corporate Finance Lawyer; Mr. Loh Uantchern, Vice President, SIAS and CEO (Asia Pacific), Black Sun; and Mr. David Toh, Board of Governor, IIA Singapore and Chairman, Corporate Governance Sub Committee, SIAS.

For more information on other programmes that are happening during the Corporate Governance Week 2022 – including the Investors’ Choice Awards 2022, Investor Forum, and Charity Governance Conference and Governance Workshops – refer to Appendix A.

CG Week 2022 is also supported and endorsed by many professional and trade bodies, as well as leading institutions and corporations, including:

• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA);

• CFA Society Singapore;

• CPA Australia;

• Financial Markets Association of Singapore (FMAS);

• The Institute of Internal Auditors Singapore (IIA);

• The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA);

• Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS); 

• The Securities Association of Singapore (SAS);

• The Institute of Internal Auditors Singapore (IIA).

For registration to attend Corporate Governance Week programmes, log on to https://sias.org.sg/cgweek2022/buytickets.php#ticket-corporategovernance.

About SIAS 

SIAS actively promotes good corporate governance and transparency practices, investor rights, investor education and is the watchdog for investors in Singapore. SIAS rates companies on their governance practices together with industry partners and rewards companies excelling in good corporate governance practices. 

SIAS, the largest organised investor group in Asia, is run by an elected Management Committee comprising professionals who are volunteers. It is now a registered Charity and an Institution of Public Character.

Besides its focus on corporate governance, SIAS also extensively provides a variety of investor education programmes to its members and the investing community at large through collaborative arrangements with financial institutions and listed companies interested in investor education as part of their corporate social responsibility agenda.

For more information about SIAS, please visit www.sias.org.sg.

Appendix A

Additional Programmes

Investors’ Choice Awards

The awards ceremony for the Investors’ Choice Awards (“ICA”) 2022 which recognises excellence in companies and individuals adopting good corporate governance practices will be held as a physical event on October 7, 2022. Guest-of-Honour will be Mr. Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore.

Investor Forum

The CG Week will round up with an engaging panel discussion held on October 14 at the Investor Forum on the topic – Does ESG help to Improve Shareholder Value? by Dr. David Smith, Senior Investment Director, abrdn. Moderated by Mrs. Elaine Lim, Honorary Advisor, SIAS and Independent Director, the panel will discuss in-depth on the impact of ESG in driving corporates’ value. Dr. Roger Barker, Dr. David Smith, Ms. Emily Goh, Committee Member, SIAS and CEO, Three S Asset Management, and Mr. Ang Hao Yao, Honorary Secretary, SIAS and Private Investor will join Mrs. Lim on the panel.

Charity Governance Conference and Governance Workshops

Earlier, the Charity Governance Conference and Workshops 2022, held through hybrid arrangements from September 8 – 9, 2022, was officiated by Mr. Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, Singapore. The event commenced with opening remarks by Mr. David Gerald, Founder, President and CEO of SIAS, and Dr. Gerard Ee, Chairman, Charity Council; and panel discussions were held by various speakers and panelists including Mr. Rajeev Peshawaria, CEO, Stewardship Asia, Mr. Chew Sutat, Chairman, Community Chest, Prof. Ang Hak Seng, Director, SUSS’ Centre of Excellence for Social Good, Mr. Robson Lee, Assistant Honorary Secretary, SIAS and Senior Corporate Finance Lawyer, and Assoc. Prof. Jennifer Ang, Deputy Director, Centre for Applied Research, Singapore University of Social Sciences. The discussions were centred around the topics Building an Effective and Diverse Board, Enabling and Disabling Technology, and Non-Fungible Tokens and their Significance to Charities. Over 600 participants from charities, non-profit and social services sector attended the 2-day event. 

SIAS is a member of the OECD Asian Roundtable on Corporate Governance. CG Week 2022 has the strong support of The Association of Banks in Singapore (“ABS”), the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (“ACRA”), Singapore Accountancy Commission (“SAC”); SGListCos as the Supporting Organisations; and the Singapore Exchange (“SGX”) as the Supporting Exchange. This year’s participating professional institutions include ASSONIME, Monash Centre for Financial Studies, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Commission and Financial Reporting Council (FRC), UK, Singapore Institute of Directors (SID), The Institute of Internal Auditors Singapore (IIA), Institute of Directors (IoD), and UBS Wealth Management. 

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