Round Table on Excellence in Corporate Governance
Showcasing Corporate Governance Best Practices by medium sized family managed companies: Three Case Studies by SPJIMR organised in collaboration with NFCG
April 27, 2009

SPJIMR has been accredited by the National Foundation for Corporate Governance (NFCG) as a National Centre for Corporate Governance. Partnering with NFCG in its mission for promoting good corporate governance practices in India, SPJIMR conducted an empirical research study in 2007, 'Showcasing Corporate Governance Best Practices by medium sized family managed listed companies – Three Case Studies'.

The study involved an assessment of the corporate governance practices of a selected sample of 30 family managed companies, through an analysis of their annual reports and personal interviews with the CEOs. A Report was prepared by Prof. Jiban K Mukhopadhyay (in charge of the project) and Ms. Dolly Dhamodiwala, Sr. Researcher, SPJIMR andwas submitted toNFCGin Sept. 2008.

To disseminate the findings of the study and initiate interactions among select family managed companies, NFCG and other experts in corporate governance, the Centre for Family Managed Business at SPJIMR organised a Round Table in association with NFCG. The half day Round Table organised at Hotel Grand Hyatt, Mumbai, was attended by more than 60 participants, that included CEOs and company secretaries of family managed companies, representatives of NFCG,mentors of SPJIMR’sFMBCentre, corporate governance experts and SPJIMR faculty members.

Session I of the Round Table started after lunch and was chaired by Mr. Gopal Chalam, Dean, Centre for Corporate Research and Training, Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Prof. Sesha Iyer, Director, SPJIMR welcomed the participants and familiarized them with the management programmesconducted by SPJIMR. Prof. Parimal Merchant, Chairperson, Family Managed Business Centre spoke about the activities of the Centre for Family Managed Business. This was followed by the Keynote address by Mr. Vijay Kapur, Director, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.Mr. Kapur said that the bestway to improve corporate governance in family managed businesses is to involve the owner director himself rather than independent directors.

Prof. Jiban Mukhopadhyay made a presentation on the findings of the study. He highlighted the corporate governance practices of 30 surveyed companies with regard to their compliance with the prescribed regulatory norms and also described several other initiatives taken by the companies beyond the mandatory requirements. The session ended with questions on the findings of the study.

The second session was chaired by Mr. Vijay Kapur and commenced with a presentation of the corporate governance practices of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL) by Chairman and Managing Director,Mr. Adi Godrej. Mr. Godrej advocated principle based governance system, which, in his opinion, would be more effective than a rule based system. Mr. R Ramakrishnan, Executive Director, Bajaj Electricals Ltd. (BEL) made a detailed presentation on the corporate governance initiatives of his company. Mr. Deependra Chumble, Chief People Officer, Hexaware Technologies Ltd., in his presentation, described the corporate governance practices at Hexaware. He explained his company's policy of openness and transparency and the continuous access his Board has to the company's senior management.

The session ended with questions from the audience on issues concerning corporate governance.