Matt Orsagh of the CFA Institute has put together anexcellent roundup of recent reforms, innovations and new rules related to corporate governance. We think some of the innovation coming out of Turkey is most interesting. (Apropos of nothing, – Turkey, by the way, has a relatively high percentage of female directors compared to all nations in Europe.)
Turkey – Look to Turkey for corporate governance innovation. In October, Turkey became the first country to require issuers to offer electronic proxy voting with the 1 October inauguration of a voting platform called e-GEM. The system will stream annual general meetings (AGMs) real time and let shareowners communicate with each other, vote before the meeting, and even change their vote as an annual meeting occurs. Other markets have e-voting but do not require it of all listed companies. Expect other markets to keep an eye on this development, especially if investors like it.
The Board Director Training Institute (BDTI) is a "public interest" nonprofit in Japan dedicated to training about directorship, corporate governance, and related management techniques. It is certified by the Japanese government to conduct these activities as a regulated nonprofit. Read a summary about BDTI here, and see a menu of its services for both corporations and investors here.