Compliance of Companies With Corporate Governance Codes

Case Study on Listed Belgian SMEs

  • Sven H. De Cleyn

Abstract

Listed and large companies become increasingly subject to internal and external pressure to comply with ethical and social standards. This article focuses on one aspect of this matter, namely the corporate governance issue. Within the framework of recent corporate scandals, this paper investigates whether and to which extent Belgian publicly listed SMEs comply with the Belgian Code on Corporate Governance after its first year of introduction, which has been constituted in the framework of the European Action Plan on Corporate Governance.
In a sample of 78 Belgian listed SMEs, the compliance with the Code is analysed. After its first year of introduction, companies comply with on average 70% of the Code’s provisions. The most problematic topics in terms of disclosure of information seem to relate to (individual) remuneration, private information and content of shareholders’ meetings.

Published
2008-04-01
How to Cite
De Cleyn S. H. (2008). Compliance of Companies With Corporate Governance Codes: Case Study on Listed Belgian SMEs. Journal of Law and Governance, 3(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.15209/jbsge.v3i1.127
Section
Articles