Code of practice for delivering effective governance of organizations

Abstract

It is increasingly obvious that society’s expectations of organizational behaviours and performance, and thus “governance”, are rising. This rise in expectations of partly in response to a steady flow of major incidents and perceived abuses of authority. However, the approach within this code of practice is based on the evidence that good governance positions organizations, and our society, for success. Therefore, the scope of this code goes beyond the avoidance or mitigation of problems

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Scope

What is BS 13500 about?

BS 13500 is a British Standard that focuses on the code of practice for delivering effective governance of organizations. BS 13500 gives recommendations and guidance for the effective delivery of governance. The purpose of BS 13500 of practice is to clarify the fundamental requirements for delivering effective governance of organizational performance.

Who is BS 13500 for?

BS 13500 on code of practice for delivering effective governance of organizations is useful for:

• The owners of the company
• The shareholders of a company
• Managers and leader

Why should you use BS 13500?

There is a growing amount of sector-level guidance on governance, but relatively little in the way of summary-level definition of the fundamentals of good governance. BS 13500 seeks to address that deficiency. In doing so it offers more detail on the important principles that lie behind much sector-specific guidance (for example, by distinguishing different accountabilities to different stakeholders) and offers a baseline for all organizations, including those for which sector-specific standards might not exist.

BS 13500 is therefore intended to be used by those concerned with the governance of organizations as a basic checklist to ensure that all the elements of a good governance system are in place. However, it is essential that organizations also consider all relevant additional or more specific sector recommendations and requirements, such as those set out in the “Further reading” section of the Bibliography (e.g., the Listing Rules [1] require listed companies in the UK to report on how they have applied the UK Corporate Governance Code 2012 [2]).

Given the breadth of the scope of governance, the vocabulary used in BS 13500 has been designed to be as widely applicable and enduring as possible.

The benefits of BS 13500 are mentioned below:

• Encouraging positive behaviour
• Reducing the cost of capital
• Improving top-level decision-making
• Assuring internal controls
• Enabling better strategic planning
• Attracting talented directors
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