Why measuring governance matters

Assess, improve, excel

  • 27 March 2025

This event is part of the series on ISO 37004: Measuring governance maturity

Discover how to transform your organization’s governance
from a compliance checkbox to a strategic advantage .

 

Our expert speaker will reveal why measurement matters—showing you how to leverage ISO 37004’s maturity model to identify governance gaps, mitigate risks, and create measurable value.

 

Whether you’re a governance professional, board member, or executive leader, you’ll gain actionable insights to elevate your governance practices from adequate to exceptional.

Background information

The strategic value of measuring governance maturity 

Join us to discover how measuring governance maturity has become a critical strategic imperative in today’s stakeholder-focused business environment.

 

In this webinar, we’ll explore how organizations can move beyond simply avoiding governance failures to demonstrating positive governance outcomes that meet growing stakeholder expectations. Learn how ISO 37004 provides the missing link to ISO 37000, offering a standardized framework to evaluate governance practices, benchmark performance, and drive continuous improvement.

 

Our expert speaker will demonstrate how proper governance measurement enhances organizational responsiveness, agility, and resilience while maintaining alignment with your core purpose and values. 

 

Whether you’re struggling to identify governance improvement areas, seeking to assess maturity consistently, or wanting meaningful comparisons with industry peers, this session provides practical insights for governance professionals at all levels.

 

Register now to discover how measuring what matters can transform your governance from a compliance exercise to a strategic advantage.

Q&A

ISO 37004:2023 is the only international standard for assessing the maturity of an organisation’s governance. Unlike a point-in-time governance assessment, it allows for the understanding of governance improvements or deterioration over time. It complements ISO 37000:2021, which provides guidelines for the governance of organisations, by offering a framework to evaluate the application and maturity of those principles. ISO 37004 is designed to be applicable to all sizes and types of organisations across any jurisdiction, regardless of their specific corporate governance codes or regulations.

Measuring governance maturity is crucial for several reasons. It ensures accountability within the governing body, builds trust and transparency with stakeholders, supports informed strategic decision-making, drives continuous improvement in governance practices, optimises the allocation of resources (including the board’s time), and helps organisations achieve compliance while also identifying opportunities for enhanced governance and performance. In today’s evolving landscape, stakeholders increasingly expect organisations to demonstrate positive governance outcomes beyond mere compliance.

ISO 37004 assesses governance maturity across three key aspects:

  • Governance Behaviour: This examines the approach to applying governance principles and the actual behaviour exhibited when governing the organisation, including engagement, preparedness, and ethical considerations.
  • Governance Effectiveness: This focuses on the ability of the organisation to achieve the objectives of its governance principles by selecting and implementing appropriate governance practices.
  • Governance Efficiency: This relates to the extent to which governance practices are made explicit through documentation and communication, ensuring clarity and shared understanding within the organisation.

ISO 37004 is designed for all types and sizes of organisations, including those in the public sector, private companies (regardless of the specific corporate governance codes they follow), and non-profit entities. It is relevant for governing bodies, board members, executive leaders, and governance professionals seeking to evaluate, compare, and improve their organisation’s governance practices. Even smaller organisations can benefit by adopting a longer-term, legacy-building mindset in their governance.

The main benefits of using ISO 37004 include: improving governance efficiency, effectiveness, and behaviour; promoting a culture of integrity and transparency; facilitating the application of governance principles and practices in a meaningful way; and enhancing the organisation’s reputation and the trust of its stakeholders. It helps organisations move beyond a purely compliance-driven approach to governance towards one that drives performance and sustainability.

ISO 37004 encourages governing bodies to articulate a clear statement of each governance principle they are applying in their own words. It also prompts them to define the reason or objective for adopting that principle and to describe the specific practices they use to apply it. This process ensures that the board has actively considered and understood the principles, moving beyond simply adopting generic statements or adhering to compliance requirements.

The most effective way for organisations to communicate their governance maturity and improvement plans is through the voice of the board in an integrated report, aligned with the International Integrated Reporting Framework. This framework allows the organisation to tell the story of how its governance contributes to value creation over the short, medium, and long term, including details of its governance maturity journey and ongoing efforts to improve its ability to govern effectively.

No, ISO 37004 is an international guidance standard and is not certifiable. Instead, it provides a framework for organisations to assess and improve their governance maturity. While organisations cannot be certified against ISO 37004, individuals can be certified in their ability to understand and apply the standard.

Our guests

Carolynn Chalmers 620px
  • ISO 37004 Editor and
    co-convenor ISO/TC309/WG6
Marc_Morley-removebg-preview
  • Head of
    Education and Training

+27 11 717 3300
info@goodgovernance.academy

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Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa

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Carolynn Chalmers

Chief Executive Officer, Good Governance Academy

Carolynn Chalmers is the Chief Executive Officer of Professor Mervyn King’s Good Governance Academy and its initiative, The ESG Exchange. She has edited two international standards: ISO 37000:2021 – Governance of organizations – Guidance and its associated Governance Maturity Model, ISO 37004:2023.

 

Carolynn makes corporate dreams come true, assisting leaders and leadership teams in how to create value for their organisations. She makes use of her expertise and experience in corporate governance, organizational strategy, Digital Transformation, and IT to do so.

 

Carolynn is an Independent Committee Member of South Africa’s largest private Pension Fund, the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund, and recently retired as Independent Committee member of several board committees for the Government Employee Medical Scheme. Carolynn has extensive management, assurance and governance experience and has held various Executive roles for international, listed, private and public organisations across many industries.

 

Carolynn is best known for her successes in establishing governance frameworks, and designing and the leading large, complex initiatives that can result. She attributes this success to the application of good governance principles. She shares her insights on her 2 LinkedIn Groups – Applying King IV and Corporate Governance Institute. 

Marc Morley

Building Partnerships for an Ethical and Sustainable Future

Good Governance Academy: Training Manager

Marc switched careers from Finance in 2012, when he moved from corporates to start-ups.

 

Marc’s first initiative in this new capacity was to help ITWinners to grow. This company is focused on helping businesses achieve their strategic goals – by building and enhancing specific capabilities.

 

Subsequently, IT Winners has grown into Executive Education Online, an organization with a passion for ethical and sustainable change, focussing on education.

 

Marc joined the Good Governance Academy in 2023 as Training Manager in a collaboration arrangement between the Good Governance Academy and Executive Education Online.

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Dr Lindie Grebe

Senior Lecturer, College of Accounting Sciences, University of South Africa

Dr Grebe is a chartered accountant and senior lecturer at the University of South Africa (Unisa). 

 

She teaches postgraduate accounting sciences through blended learning using technology in distance education, and through face-to-face study schools throughout South Africa. During her employment at Unisa, she also acted as Coordinator: Master’s and Doctoral Degrees for the College of Accounting Sciences (CAS), chairperson of the research ethics committee and chairperson of the Gauteng North Region of the Southern African Accounting Association (SAAA). 

 

Before joining Unisa as academic, she gained ten years’ experience in audit practice and in commerce.