Company secretary's role in board assessment.

(From The Star (Malaysia))

IN recent years, corporate governance has become very topical and focused in the US, Britain and Europe.

Asean countries are no exception as evidenced from the report, ' A Concise Report on Corporate Governance Policies and Practices ', which was published in January 2000, by the Asian Corporate Governance Association.

In December 1999, the Singapore Government set up three private sector-led committees to carry out a comprehensive review of issues relating to disclosure and governance. The areas of focus are as follows:

[middle dot]The Committee on Company Legislation and Regulatory Framework is to review Singapore's corporate law and regulatory framework, comparing these with standards and best practices in major overseas jurisdictions.

It also looks at the structure and composition of the Companies Act and its relationship with other statutes that influence corporate governance standards.

[middle dot]The Committee on Disclosure Standards is to review the process by which accounting …