CGF ARTICLES, OPINIONS & EDITORIALS
February 26,
2025 196 196 
By Jené Palmer CA(SA) GCB.D (CGF Research Institute: Director)
Despite compelling research confirming a strong alignment between Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and corporate financial performance, Goldman Sachs and Deloitte have become the latest big corporations to formally announce that they are reviewing their DEI policies in light of the United States’ revised position on diversity, inadvertently giving credence to claims that diversity policies lead to “reverse discrimination”.
October 29,
2024 598 598
By Terrance M. Booysen (CGF Research Institute: CEO)
Despite the public outcries about corruption and the demand for increased accountability, in practice, the gravitas of good corporate governance continues to be trivialised. Corporate governance plays a crucial role in shaping the future strategic direction of organisations and guiding their operational conduct. It is especially important for those holding fiduciary duties or providing advisory services related to corporate governance.
October 17,
2024 569 569
By Jené Palmer CA(SA) GCB.D (CGF Research Institute: Director
The speed at which governments and regulators are adopting sustainability reporting standards is increasing the pressure in the boardroom. Stakeholders are expecting board members and the c-suite to not only comply with these evolving disclosure requirements, but to embrace the ESG data being collected to minimise risk and drive greater value.
May 7,
2024 5062 5062
By Jené Palmer CA(SA) GCB.D (CGF Research Institute: Director)
Too many board members only view their organisation’s governance framework as a means to assess compliance. The opportunity to leverage the outcomes of governance assessments to drive innovation and strategic change are often missed because organisational leaders do not measure the dexterity of their strategic processes.
April 11,
2024 2081 2081
By Jené Palmer CA(SA) GCB.D (CGF Research Institute: Director)
Let’s just focus on the business and less on governance! Governance stifles innovation and adds red tape! How often have you heard similar sentiments being expressed?
The reality is that the role of the board has evolved. Global issues and topics such as geopolitics, diversity and inclusivity, climate and nature, and artificial intelligence, have rendered the traditional approach to board oversight as far too narrow. Today, boards must adopt a more stakeholder-inclusive approach and embrace different perspectives when considering strategy development, risk management and operational and ethical oversight. However, good governance has always been a fundamental competency for board members rather than a set of bureaucratic skills which imposes an additional burden on decision-making within the organisation.
April 15,
2021 3657 3657
By Dr. Irma Meyer and peer reviewed by Terrance M. Booysen
Many communication specialists share the frustration of being the writers and owners of impressive communication strategies that were never, or at best, only partially implemented. They go through the process of spending days, sometimes weeks, designing creative and intelligent communication strategies, only to be confronted with every day, real-life events back at the office, rendering the strategy virtually immediately obsolete.
May 30,
2019 5160 5160
By Jené Palmer CA(SA) (CGF Lead Independent Consultant) and peer reviewed by Terrance M. Booysen
Visionary leaders do not underestimate the power of the Corporate Governance Framework® in driving organisational culture. These leaders appreciate the importance of a governance framework in nurturing sustainability by driving values-based decision-making to “play the long game”.
July 11,
2017 10441 10441
By Paul Aucamp and Jené Palmer
Is your business equipped to survive the pressures of a rapidly changing business world, which is being exacerbated by the growing uncertainty presented by South Africa’s re-entry into another recession? To ensure the sustainability of the organisation, this critical question needs to be asked of South African boards of directors and senior executives alike.
January 18,
2017 11787 11787
By Jené Palmer and reviewed by Terrance M. Booysen
Board performance, or the lack thereof, has recently been quite prominent in the South African landscape. Unfortunately, the examples of mismanagement, poor oversight and lacklustre governance of our state-owned entities as well as some private sector businesses, abound. Poor and deteriorating financial results, high staff turnovers, lack of strategic direction and transparency as well as little to no stakeholder communication, are but some of the symptoms of a poorly performing board.
June 7,
2016 10518 10518
Article by Jenè Palmer
Forward thinking organisations have realised that corporate governance does not merely fall into the portfolio of the Company Secretary. Indeed, the draft King IV Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2016 (‘King IV’), describes corporate governance as “the exercise of ethical and effective leadership by the governing body” of an organisation.