On May 20, 2024, experts from the Ukrainian Corporate Governance Institute and the Corporate Governance Professional Association (CGPA) completed a regular corporate governance training for members of the Supervisory Board and the Management Board of the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as UA:PBC).
Oleksandr Okuniev, Chairman of the CGPA Board of Directors, expressed his gratitude to Svitlana Ostapa, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of UA:PBC, for her active participation in the preparation and involvement in the implementation of the training. The success of all endeavors depends on the “tone from the top”, which brought positive results as effectively implemented practical training.
The highlight of the training was a practical exercise on assessing the board’s performance, namely its control functions. This was a 360-degree assessment that was completed by members of the Supervisory Board, members of the Management Board and other employees of the company who are directly involved in the activities of the Supervisory Board. As a result, there was a substantive discussion about building a risk management, internal audit and control service, which was of great practical importance to all participants.
Vadym Miskyi, as the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board of UA:PBC, in turn, noted that the committee would try to use all joint developments in its work.
Today, ESG standards, approaches and concepts have become key to the development of strategies for companies, including Ukrainian ones. Sustainable development has always been associated with a long-distance race. But only those who have at least started to walk will make it. ESG is not something to have, it is primarily the principles that should guide your daily activities. Vasyl Davydko, Managing Partner of Leopolis Group, focused on ESG issues and ‘why is it important?’ in his speech during the training for UA:PBC representatives. He noted: “The active participation of the participants in the training confirmed that governance methodologies and key aspects of the sustainable economy (E, S, G, in English Environmental, Social, Governance) already have a (primary) presence in corporate governance in Ukraine. Supervisory boards with a long-term vision are already in the cards, and our country should continue to move along this path.“
Volodymyr Igonin, Partner, Head of Corporate/M&A Practice at Vasil Kisil & Partners, in his speech focused on the novelties in the governance of state-owned property and together with the participants considered the issues relevant to the UA:PBC.
As always, during such trainings for companies, CGPA engages experienced practitioners who are ready to share their best practices. This time, representatives of JSC ‘Ukrzaliznytsia’ – Dmytro Sergienko, Director of the Audit Department, and Yuliy Shchukin, Director of the Risk Management Department – shared their experience. Dmytro Sergienko said: “The development of corporate governance in Ukraine is part of our path to Europe. Not only is Ukrzaliznytsia ready to carry passengers and cargo, we continue to share the best practices in implementing the internal control system, anti-corruption initiatives, risk management and internal audit.“
Participants’ feedback on the event
“Corporate governance training is very important for members of the Supervisory Board. Legislation is constantly changing, so we are very grateful to the organisers – the Ukrainian Corporate Governance Institute and the Corporate Governance Professional Association – for explaining the new rules of the law. It was also very interesting to communicate with our colleagues from other joint-stock companies. Although UA:PBC JSC differs from other joint-stock companies, it is useful for us to learn how corporate governance is organised in their companies,” said Svitlana Ostapa, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of UA:PBC JSC.
Dmytro Kozlov, a Management Board of UA:PBC JSC member, noted: “We are grateful to CGPA partners for the opportunity to delve into corporate governance issues once again. Such training is important for our team for a simple reason – we must constantly find and update answers to such questions as ensuring transparency and accountability of the Public Broadcaster, minimising risks in an extremely uncertain moment, protecting and improving the company’s reputation, sustainable development, including through improving management efficiency. The topics of ESG, assessment and development of governance bodies, interaction of all lines of defence (compliance, risk, internal audit) were extremely important this time. We understand that such work on self-development and improvement should be regular. The CGPA and the invited guest speakers helped us tremendously with this.“
“Improvement of corporate governance and professional development of governing body members is an integral part of the company’s development. Legislation in this area has recently undergone significant changes, so it is important to inform the governing bodies of legislative innovations. I appreciate our cooperation with the Ukrainian Corporate Governance Institute and CGPA; thank you for new formats, ideas and opportunities to share experiences with colleagues from other corporations,” said Kateryna Polyvach, Corporate Secretary of UA:PBC JSC.
CGPA plans to scale this format of cooperation with companies in a corporate format. This is more than just a training programme, it is the next step – specific practical recommendations and exchange of experience, taking into account the specifics of corporate governance of a particular company.
Фото: Анастасія Мантач