King I

The King Report on Corporate Governance is a ground-breaking booklet of guidelines for the governance structures and operation of companies in South Africa. It is issued by the King Committee on Corporate Governance. Three reports were issued in 1994 (King I), 2002 (King II), and 2009 (King III) and a fourth revision (King IV) is in progress. The Institute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoDSA) owns the copyright of the King Report on Corporate Governance and the King Code of Corporate Governance. Compliance with the King Reports is a requirement for companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The King Report on Corporate Governance has been cited as "the most effective summary of the best international practices in corporate governance".

In July 1993 the Institute of Directors in South Africa asked retired Supreme Court of South Africa judge Mervyn E. King to chair a committee on corporate governance. He viewed this as an opportunity to educate the newly democratic South African public on the working of a free economy. The committee's report was to be the first report of its kind in South Africa.

Committee members included Phillip Armstrong, Nigel Payne, and Richard Wilkinson.

Unlike other corporate governance codes such as Sarbanes-Oxley, the code is non-legislative and is based on principles and practices. It also espouses an apply or explain approach, unique to the Netherlands until King and now also found in the 2010 Combined Code from the United Kingdom.

The philosophy of the code consists of the three key elements of leadership, sustainability and good corporate citizenship. It views good governance as essentially being effective, ethical leadership. King believes that leaders should direct the company to achieve sustainable economic, social and environmental performance. It views sustainability as the primary moral and economic imperative of this century; the code's view on corporate citizenship flows from a company's standing as a juristic person under the South African constitution and should operate in a sustainable manner.

In 1994 the first King report on corporate governance (King 1) was published, the first corporate governance code for South Africa. It established recommended standards of conduct for boards and directors of listed companies, banks, and certain state-owned enterprises. It included not only financial and regulatory aspects, but also advocated an integrated approach that involved all stakeholders.

It was applicable to all companies listed on the main board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, large public entities as defined by the Public Entities Act of South Africa; banks, financial and insurance companies as defined by the Financial Services Acts of South Africa; and large unlisted companies. It defined "large" as companies with shareholder equity over R50 million, but encouraged all companies to adopt the code.

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