In recent years following the pandemic, a series of companies that have raised significant rounds amidst the tech hype have fallen into intense scrutiny and faced sudden leadership changes. All of these headlines have continued to spark a vital conversation about corporate governance.

As questions arise over internal management decisions and stakeholder communication, the case serves as a reminder: strong governance isn’t just compliance—it’s essential for trust, stability, and long-term success.

“Many of the largest corporate scandals have been due to poor governance structures.”

— Irfan Patel, Corporate Governance Analyst, AXA Investment Managers

💡 What can companies learn from this? Follow the ‘BOARD’ framework for governance excellence:

1️⃣ Balanced Oversight

Strong, independent boards are crucial for decision-making and alignment among founders, management, and investors.

In any organization, especially fast-growing startups, strong board oversight is crucial. The absence of proper governance structures can lead to misalignment between founders, management, and investors. Ensuring the independence and effectiveness of a company’s board can provide a necessary check on decision-making, protecting the interests of all stakeholders.

Companies may establish a clear governance framework by appointing independent board members who are not affiliated with the company’s day-to-day operations. Hold regular board meetings to review key financials, strategy, and risk management. Ensure there are clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each board member, and that there is a separation of powers between management and the board, particularly in decision-making processes.

Checklist:

1. Appoint independent board members.
2. Conduct regular meetings to review strategy, risks, and financials.
3. Clearly separate management and governance roles.

Governance is also impacted by the tools used by the organization — tools that companies like Finmo are trying to modularize with their Treasury OS platform, as CEO and co-founder David Hanna shares on the On Call with Insignia podcast.

“It always amazes me that when we even go upstream into large enterprises, and I’m talking about multinationals that are huge, they are still managing their treasury process by Excel. That one surprises me every time I hear it because there aren’t many tools out there that can solve this problem.

From our point of view, we constantly get feedback on the UI and usability, making it simpler to solve some of these problems, etc. But really, it brings it back to some simple problems we’re trying to solve in aggregate. 

The process of logging in, yield management, de-risking FX fluctuations due to macro activities, etc., sounds simple in isolation, but when you put them together, that’s where the complexity comes in. 

So we’re trying to make that as seamless and easy as possible for traditional treasurers and treasury teams to use one platform to solve those problems end-to-end.”

2️⃣ Open Communication

Transparency builds trust. A lack of clear communication can erode stakeholder confidence and harm reputations.

Massive blowup scenarios seen on headlines underscore the need for clear, consistent communication between companies and their investors, employees, and customers. A lack of transparency or sudden, unexplained changes can erode trust and lead to reputational damage. Stakeholders need to be kept informed about significant decisions and strategic shifts to maintain confidence in the company’s leadership.

Companies may consider implementing a structured communication plan that includes regular updates to all key stakeholders—investors, employees, and customers—on company performance, strategic decisions, and any changes in direction. Usage of multiple channels (e.g., quarterly earnings calls, newsletters, town halls) to ensure transparency and consistency.

Checklist:

1. Implement a communication plan with regular updates.
2. Use diverse channels like town halls, newsletters, and investor calls to maintain consistency.

Fazz and StraitsX co-founder Tianwei Liu shares about one form of communication — with regulators — on the On Call with Insignia podcast:

“For compliance and fintech, talking to regulators, having an open dialogue and showing consistency and showing them who’s the person behind the company and what are you trying to achieve here and having a constant clear dialogue with them to build trust and credibility.

A lot of these things really take time. If you think about central banks or regulators, their number one KPI really is not innovation. Singapore and the MAS — kudos to them again — they have been doing a lot of work. 

But if you really think about the order of priorities for auto regulators around the world, I’m pretty sure it’s always going to be the same. Innovation is not the number one. Number one is stability. Making sure that the economy is sound and nothing goes wrong is actually a topmost priority. 

Then with that kind of thing, then you need to understand how they will then go about doing things. There will be regulators that are more forward-looking like Singapore and a few other countries. But at the same time, they will not be able to bridge the fact that they need to make sure that there’s the ability for everything you do. And that is why trust and credibility become something that’s super important.”

3️⃣ Accountability Practices

Accountability and ethics are the backbone of strong governance.

At the heart of corporate governance is accountability. Leaders must be held responsible for their actions, especially when it comes to financial and operational decisions that impact the long-term health of the business.

Strong governance practices ensure that ethical considerations are prioritized alongside financial performance. Key action points may include developing and enforcing a code of ethics that clearly defines acceptable behavior and practices at all levels of the organization. Implement regular audits, both internal and external, to ensure compliance.

Establish an anonymous whistleblower system to report unethical behavior, and ensure that leadership holds themselves accountable for the financial and operational performance of the business. Clearly communicate the consequences of unethical behavior to reinforce the company’s commitment to integrity.

Checklist:

1. Create and enforce a company-wide code of ethics.
2. Conduct regular audits and set up whistleblower systems for reporting unethical practices.
3. Hold leadership accountable for decisions impacting long-term business health.

The underlying shift here for a startup is to professionalize. As Fazz and StraitsX’s CXO Mark Hew shares on the On Call with Insignia podcast:

“Mark shares how his first few years in the company were spent transitioning “from a startup into a professional organization, focusing on systems, processes, and cadence.” 

Today, Fazz is well into what Mark calls the “consolidation phase.” Fazz has started to “consciously align different parts of the organization, identifying core strengths and creating a competitive advantage moving forward.” 

The competitive advantage moving forward has been increasingly defined around payment infrastructure. “Our infrastructure actually serves some of the big names in Indonesia, like Blibli, Brick, Bukalapak, and Flip.”

Balancing Growth with Independent Governance and Risk Management

As companies scale, the temptation is often to focus solely on growth and innovation. However, neglecting governance can have long-term consequences. A robust governance framework doesn’t stifle innovation—it ensures that growth is sustainable, risks are mitigated, and stakeholders’ interests are protected.

As the company grows, consider establishing dedicated committees (e.g., audit, risk, compensation) to handle specific areas of oversight. Ensure that processes and policies are regularly updated to align with the size and complexity of the business. Prioritize long-term sustainability by implementing risk management practices that address not just immediate growth, but the scalability and resilience of the company’s operations over time.

4️⃣ Risk Management

Sustainable growth depends on proactively managing risks while scaling.

Checklist:

1. Establish specialized committees (e.g., audit, risk, compensation).
2. Update governance processes regularly to match business complexity.
3. Adopt risk management practices that balance short-term wins with long-term resilience.

It’s also important to hire the right people to implement risk management policies (internal controls), as AwanTunai CFO Shilpa Gautam shared on the On Call with Insignia podcast:

“Earlier this year, we hired a head of internal audit whose job is to create these controls across the right divisions, be it sales, treasury, or product…we have very senior leaders from OCBC, from HSBC who’ve joined us. And they have been very instrumental in setting up this control framework.”

5️⃣ Decision Independence

Separate powers between management and governance to ensure objective, fair decision-making.

As Sir Adrian Cadbury aptly said:

“A company’s reputation for governance is as important as its reputation for performance.”

This case is a wake-up call for businesses across industries: Good governance isn’t optional—it’s a strategic advantage. Companies that prioritize governance build trust, mitigate risks, and ensure sustainable growth.

👉 What’s your take on corporate governance in today’s fast-changing landscape? Share your thoughts below!