Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on corporate governance practices

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has had an impact on every aspect of human life, including business. Many industries ground to a halt, and some businesses had to resort to liquidation. In this context, corporate governance was not spared the effects of the pandemic either, as the crisis almost paralyzed the entire business ecosystem. Therefore, this research aims to determine the most affected area of companies’ corporate governance and examine how companies changed their corporate governance structure in response to the COVID-19 crisis to ensure the survival of their business. Thirty-seven publicly listed companies were selected as the samples of the study. Their annual reports were analyzed using a qualitative data analysis technique. The results showed that the majority of companies had to transfer their Annual General Meeting (AGM) or/and Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to an online platform, while the shareholders were required to vote electronically. Moreover, some companies had to revise their budget, revisit their strategic plan, reduce director fees, send their directors for additional training, or conduct board evaluations online.