In February 2019, the ASX Corporate Governance Council released the 4th edition of its Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations (‘Principles and Recommendations’) following an extensive public consultation. Influenced by events such as the 2018 APRA Report into Commonwealth Bank and the Financial Services Royal Commission, the latest edition includes new recommendations and commentary regarding organisational culture, values and purpose.
The 4th edition of the Principles and Recommendations now includes commentary that states ‘Generally speaking, the board of a listed entity should be responsible under its charter for… defining the entity’s purpose and strategic objectives.’1 There are also three new recommendations under Principle 32 which focus on listed entities’ responsibility to articulate their values, to disclose a code of conduct for directors and all staff, and to have and disclose a whistleblower policy, and for the board (or a board committee) to be informed of any breaches of those policies.