Chief executives are more important in driving governance change at their companies than either chairmen or directors, a survey by the Australian Institute of Management (AIM) has found. Of those surveyed, 83% said chief executives are highly or very highly involved in championing corporate governance change. Chairmen came in second place with 69%.

Furthermore, despite accepted wisdom that non-executive directors are an important safeguard against management excess, only 39% of respondents considered them highly or very highly involved in advancing governance change.

Keith Hilless, AIM national president, said: “This survey provides a much-needed reality check on how organisations are really governed. The findings help restore the balance by recognising that directors and managers are both key players. We expect these findings to kick-start a frank discussion on the kind of ‘whole of organisation’ solutions needed to achieve effective governance”.