Boards need a reset but governance fundamentals still hold: Indranee Rajah

Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, emphasized at the Singapore Institute of Directors’ (SID) Directors Conference 2026 that boards need a reset, but must not abandon fundamental governance principles. She highlighted the importance of resetting how boards practice these fundamentals, stay alert to new risks, and consider the broader societal impact of their decisions.

The conference, themed "New Game, New Rules: Do Boards Need a Reset?", aimed to address the evolving challenges faced by boards in the current uncertain environment. In response to these challenges, Rajah announced the Company Director Fundamentals (CDF) programme, a joint initiative by SID and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra), supported by RSM Singapore and Rajah & Tann Singapore.

The CDF programme offers a free foundational module and a paid component for directors to deepen their skills in areas such as directors' duties, financial literacy, and ESG considerations. Rajah stressed that good corporate governance is about maintaining trust through sound financial discipline and accurate financial reporting, before considering long-term value creation.

She also introduced the Bani framework, a more recent term that better describes the unpredictable and complex operating environment today. For a board to be effective in this Bani world, it needs to embody four qualities: boldness, stability, expertise, and independence. The relationship between the chairman and CEO is crucial for board effectiveness, with the chairman acting as a mentor and bridge between the board and management. Rajah cited examples of successful board-chairman dynamics at PSA International and DBS.