Corporate Governance Guidelines
English
*Sixth version in English will be available soon.
The Guidelines are intended to promote good corporate governance by clarifying the roles and responsibilities of board members and company directors. Thus it is made easier for these individuals to fulfil their duties in the interest of shareholders.
The Iceland Chamber of Commerce publishes the Corporate Governance Guidelines in collaboration with SA - Business Iceland and Nasdaq Iceland.
Publishers
Good corporate governance can serve to strengthen company infrastructure and build trust in business generally.
Both components are crucial for the competitiveness of Icelandic companies.
Purpose of guidelines
The main objective of the Guidelines is to contribute to good corporate governance by clarifying the roles and responsibilities of managers and enabling them to perform their tasks while simultaneously securing the interest of stakeholders and other invested parties. The Guidelines include recommendations over and above those laid down in the relevant legislation and are therefore more flexible, as it is difficult to set standards that are suitable for companies of all types and sizes.
Changes in 6th version
Here you can access an overview of the changes made in the 6th edition of the guidelines.
Advisory material
Corporate Governance Guidelines are issued by the Iceland Chamber of Commerce, Business Iceland and Nasdaq Iceland. The guidelines were first published in 2004 and a revised version was released a year later. The third version of the guidelines was published in 2009, the fourth in 2012 and the fifth in 2015. The latest version of the guidelines was published in Icelandic in February 2021.
Here you can access previous versions of Corporate Governance Guidelines:
In April 2013 a working group of numerous bodies responsible for issuing Corporate Governance Guidelines in 26 European Countries was formed. This collaboration goes by the name of European Corporate Governance Network was launched in 2007 and since then it‘s scope has almost tripled.
The Corporate Governance Guidelines of the Nordic countries can be accessed here:
One of Swedens most top specialists in Corporate Governance, Per Lekvall, published a book in 2014 called The Nordic Corporate Governance Model. Per points out that the Nordic Region is remarkable in many ways and has been the subject of increasing interest over the past years. This comprehensive study is now available in English here.
Working Group on Corporate Governance
The working group on corporate governance was made up of representatives of the publishers of the Guidelines and experts from both the private sector and academia. Their contribution has been invaluable and is reflected in the positive changes that have been made to the fifth version of the Icelandic Guidelines on Corporate Governance.
Project manager of the guidelines‘ 6th edition
Agla Eir Vilhjálmsdóttir, General Counsel, Iceland Chamber of Commerce
Þóranna Jónsdóttir (Chair)
Specialist in Corporate Governance
Ari Guðjónsson
General Counsel Icelandair Group
Árni Sigurjónsson
General Counsel Marel
Berglind Ósk Magnúsdóttir
Lawyer and Consultant
Halldór Benjamín Þorbergsson
Managing Director of Business Iceland
Hjörleifur Pálsson
Ingibjörg Ösp Stefánsdóttir
Project Manager of Business Iceland
Ingunn Agnes Kro
Managing Director of Jarðvarma
Kristín Friðgeirsdóttir
International Consultant
Magnús Harðarson
CEO NASDAQ Iceland
Marta Guðrún Blöndal
General Counsel ORF líftækni
Svanhildur Hólm Valsdóttir
Managing Director Iceland Chamber of Commerce
Þórður Magnússon
Chairman of Eyrir Invest
Þröstur Olaf Sigurjónsson
Professor at Uni. of Iceland
Agla Eir Vilhjálmsdóttir
General Counsel Iceland Chamber of Commerce