OREANDA-NEWS. An international conference, “The Corporate Secretary in the System of Corporate Governance”, was held in Prague on March 13 and 14, 2008. Bank Electronika was represented by Olga Strakhova, its Corporate Secretary and head of the institution’s Corporate Governance Service.

The conference was an integral part of a new project from the Gold Corporate Series. The project was organized by Marcus Evans and is devoted to improving and optimizing activities of the corporate secretary in systems of corporate governance in Russia and CIS-country companies. Participants discussed a range of pivotal issues, including the regulatory activities of the corporate secretary; building relationships with shareholders, independent directors, and the company’s managers; organizing the work of the board of directors; the role of the corporate secretary in the company’s risk management and control system.

Conference attendees heard reports from representatives of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (Great Britain), the Association of Independent Directors, VTB, Russian Railways, the Russian Institute of Directors, Severstal, CenterTelecom, EuroChem, Interfax Business Service, and other large organizations, including those from finance and industry. As they addressed very timely and problematic issues for corporate governance structures, the reports drew considerable interest from attendees. Speakers, drawing on the experience of concrete companies, discussed international practices in corporate management and the effectiveness of existing methods in this sphere.

Participants in the conference took active part in discussing problems of corporate governance in Russia. That is understandable: at this moment, matters of authority, obligations, and status of the corporate secretary in Russian companies need airing and reworking as never before. In September 2007 the position of corporate secretary was included in the government’s registry of positions. Thus this important post for any sizeable establishment has become officially recognized in Russia. From a legislative point of view, however, the function is reflected weakly, while companies more and more frequently find they need a clear concept for the activities of the corporate secretary – a post so important to the effective work of the organization.

During the conference in Prague, discussion of creating a Russian public organization of corporate secretaries also continued. The unquestionable relevance of subjects for such meeting and the willingness of participants to talk about systems of corporate governance in Russia are powerful prerequisites to perfecting existing structures.