The quality of corporate governance modestly rises

"A great deal has been written about the impacts of COVID-19 from every imaginable angle, from workplace culture, talent management, and evolving business models, to changing social interactions and even fashion. Much of that writing is based on little more than observation and analysis.

Today, The IIA, in collaboration with the University of Tennessee's Neel Corporate Governance Center, releases an authoritative examination of the pandemic's impact on corporate governance that is based on solid survey data.

The American Corporate Governance Index, appropriately titled Making Strides Amid Crisis, finds that corporate governance improved modestly last year, despite the chaotic and challenging atmosphere created by the rapid spread of the deadly virus. Indeed, the improved index score suggests that "the pandemic-fueled focus on crisis management, updated risk assessments, and stronger alignment among risk management players may have contributed to the stronger showing on overall governance."

The improvement, from a middling C+ grade in 2019 to a slightly better B- in 2020, reflects corporate governance among companies listed on U.S.-based stock exchanges. The scores are based on data gleaned from surveys of chief audit executives (CAEs) who rated their organizations on the index's eight Guiding Principles of Corporate Governance."

--> Read ​From the epicenter of corporate governance, internal auditors see modest improvement on the website of Internal Auditor.

--> Download American Corporate Governance Index: Making Strides Amid Crisis, developed by The IIA and the University of Tennessee’s Neel Corporate Governance Center