Corporate Governance Disclosure Practices: The Portrait of a Developing Country

CG disclosure is a fundamental theme of the modern corporate regulatory system, which encompasses providing information by a company to the public in a variety of ways. In the light of CG compliance requirements and disclosure standards, as envisaged by provisions of Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement, this study analyzes the CG disclosure practices in India. We have primarily used the secondary sources of information, both from the Report on CG and the Annual Report of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for the financial year 2008-2009.In this study of RIL, we have developed our own model as a ‘working’ method. In order to ascertain how far this company is compliant of CG standards, a ‘point-value-system’ has been applied. Based on the disclosures made by the Company and an in-depth evaluation of the results, we conclude that this company has shown ‘very good’performance, with an overall score of 85 points. Despite some limitations, this study will help us to pinpoint the effectiveness of CG practices followed by the Reliance group. Based on our findings, we can conclude that RIL group is in the forefront of implementation of “best CG practices in India,” but some scope still exists for its improvement.