SLID takes up the quest of good governance

John Keells Holdings Finance Director Ronnie Peiris was appointed President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) at the Annual General Meeting yesterday.

Addressing the media immediately after his appointment, Peiris noted that his priority would be to promote good governance in companies.                   

SLID is in the process of preparing a constitution which will be presented to the members within the next three months to emphasise the importance of good governance. The organisation has 500 members and is expected to expand to rural areas in the near future.

“Good governance has always been the cornerstone of SLID and it was one of the reasons that it was started,” he explained, adding that the institute needed to focus on good governance since there was a growing need for it within the country.

However, he acknowledged that SLIDs membership was still largely limited to Colombo and there was a need to expand it to include directors from companies operating outside the capital.

“We are also encouraging professionals from non-governmental organisations and public establishments to join us since the principals of good governance must expand to cover all sectors. We understand that good governance needs to be contextualised to meet the different challenges that exists in the business environment and that is unique to each company. One solution cannot be expected to fit everyone.”

SLID will also continue its training programmes along with a host of other services to increase professional standards and infuse good governance across the board, Peiris assured.