4 June, Basseterre, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis – As the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) continues to explore the importance of Good Corporate Governance in the financial sector, the latest episode of ECCB Connects looks at how good corporate governance and the internal and external auditor help to protect the public’s interest at financial institutions.
Senior Manager, Internal Audit Department, Bank of Saint Lucia Limited – Melissa Simon and Audit Partner at BDO Eastern Caribbean – Raquel Glynn, guests on the programme, explain how their roles as an Internal and an External Auditor respectively, help to safeguard the public’s money and interest at commercial banks and other financial institutions.
Giving an outline of what sound corporate governance in the financial sector should look like, Simon says, “we need to ensure that there is an effective legal framework, one that specifies the basic legal rights and obligations of corporate entities. It should also specify the disclosure requirements as well as providing for the effective enforcement of the law.” External Auditor Glynn agrees, adding that as they examine the institution, they look at how well integrity and ethical values are communicated to employees; questioning whether companies have a Code of Conduct or a Whistle Blower Policy, where employees feel comfortable to report issues that they might think are deviations from polices, fraud or other issues without retaliation.
For more in-depth views expressed on Good Corporate Governance in the financial sector, view this week’s episode of ECCB Connects on the ECCB websitewww.eccb-centralbank.organd its social media pages.