The Guidelines of Corporate Governance of Ghana: Issues, Deficiencies and Suggestions

Abstract

The worldwide mushrooming of codes of corporate governance has resulted in a formalisation of rules andnorms. These rules and norms have undeniably been proven to be important constituents in shaping the presentcorporate governance structures across the globe. The 2010 Code of best practices for corporate governanceissued by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Ghana is an archetypical of such codes. It is irrefutablythe most encyclopaedic guideline for good corporate governance practices presently in Ghana. It containsoverarching provisions for effective corporate governance practices in Ghana. This paper presents a painstakingreview of the code. It first examines key properties of the code. Next, the main deficiencies of the code areilluminated by examining the provisions that lack clarity. Also, other unqualified derelictions, substandardprovisions and common gaffes in the code are highlighted. It then makes suggestions with the idea that theywould be taken into consideration if future remediation of the code is to be undertaken.