Following the emerging trends in the global governance workplace, corporate secretaries, registrars and issuers have been urged to leverage relevant tools, including technology and knowledge of the industry, to remain relevant in the profession.

The stakeholders are of the view that governance professionals in Nigeria could no longer operate based on the available knowledge and expertise within the confines of their environment alone.

They said this was because what constitutes best practices on the global stage in terms of professional performance was their guiding principle.

They spoke at this year’s Company Secretaries and Registrars’ forum, organised by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN)/Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR). They said governance professionals could only be sustainable into the future if they adapt to inevitable changes in the global governance workplace and ensure values of their contributions are enhanced by leveraging on the aforementioned tools.

President and Chairman of Council, ICSAN, Taiwo Owokalade, who said the global workplace has undergone changes in recent years with industrial reforms and innovations, called for re-adaptation of professional skills to suit the new realities.

According to him, the sustainability of the emerging culture and practices of the global workplace will be directly proportional to the overall contribution to the realisation of the values and objectives of corporate entities.

He said this was because sustainability connotes a method of running a business to make both profit and ethical impact count, as environmental and social issues are embodied in policy mainstreaming of corporations and other entities.

To this end, he said there is need to situate functions and responsibilities of the corporate secretaries, registrars and issuers within the emerging trends in the global governance workplace, bringing out the utilities and dynamics of these roles and functions and make projections on how to make these not only more efficient and value-adding, but also to make them sustainable.

President/ Chairman of Council of ICMR, Seyi Owoturo, said there is a need for governance professionals to take responsibility for how they manage peoples’ wealth and the way they engage stakeholders.

He added that beyond conduct, sustainability entails how employees and entire workforce are trained to achieve organisational growth.

Speaking on the theme, ‘Sustainability and Global Governance Workplace:The Role of Corporate Secretaries, Registrars and Issuers’, Director-General, The Chartered Governance Institute in the United Kingdom (UK), Tim Sheehy, emphasised what governance professionals should do to attain a better workplace and inclusive workforce.

Noting that governance professionals play a key role in propagating culture, he urged that organisations should put governance framework and better leadership in perspective.

On how company secretaries and governance professionals can genuinely add value to their organisations, Sheehy emphasised educating and learning on topics; ethical governance and artificial intelligence, as well as dwelling on equity and justice.

Also, Chief Executive Officer, United Capital, Peter Ashade, gave an overview of the concept of sustainability and hinged it on three pillars environment, social and economic sustainability.

He said as sustainability becomes a major focus for businesses, organisations need to ensure that their corporate governance practices are keeping up with the changing landscape.

In achieving capital market sustainability, he said stakeholders must promote a capital market that meets the need of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Similarly, Cheta Nwabuike of CE Power Solutions Limited spoke on the role of company secretaries in advancing sustainability.

Nwabuike, who is the firm’s Executive Director/Head, Legal Compliance, listed the challenges company secretaries face in advancing sustainability at the workplace such as conflicting priorities, lack of understanding, resistance to change and lack of commitment, among others.