Washington, D.C., April 14, 2011—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and its Global Corporate Governance Forum today launched a capacity-building toolkit aimed at strengthening board directors’ abilities to resolve corporate governance disputes through mechanisms that are faster, less costly, and more effective than litigation.
IFC’s Resolving Corporate Governance Disputes Toolkit shows how alternative-dispute-resolution processes and techniques can help resolve corporate-governance disputes. Using alternative dispute resolution can be beneficial in many ways—from narrowing the scope of the dispute to finding solutions that retain business relationships that tend to be sacrificed during court battles.
“Left unchecked, corporate governance disputes can have a highly negative impact on a company’s reputation, operations, performance, and ability to make strategic decisions,” said Marie-Laurence Guy, Senior Operations Officer, who led the development of the toolkit. “Having adequate policies and skills to manage and resolve corporate-governance disputes is part of good risk management.”
Corporate-governance disputes are disputes that involve a company’s board or its authority, and they arise in any type of company in any industry. Such disputes may involve directors, senior management, and shareholders as well as other stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, and community activists.
Divided into three volumes, the toolkit provides guidance for companies, regulators, policymakers, mediators, and institutes of directors. The first volume explores the rationale for applying alternative-dispute-resolution mechanisms to corporate-governance disputes. The second focuses on the implementation and use of corporate governance dispute-resolution mechanisms and services. The third reviews the skills required for effectively resolving corporate-governance disputes and addresses the training needs of both directors and dispute-resolution professionals.
IFC promotes better corporate governance in developing countries, improving board practices, strengthening shareholder rights, and enhancing risk management and corporate disclosure.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About IFC’s Global Corporate Governance Forum
The Global Corporate Governance Forum is a leading knowledge and capacity building platform dedicated to corporate governance reform in emerging markets and developing countries. The Forum offers a unique collection of expertise, experiences, and solutions to key corporate governance issues from developed and developing countries. The Forum is a multi-donor trust fund facility located within IFC's Sustainable Business Lines, co-founded in 1999 by the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). For more information about the Forum, please visit:
www.gcgf.org
.
