Abstract

The growth of the economy of any nation requires that public companies, which  dominate the securities sector, are strong financially, and also requires that the  modality for their governance and operations should accord with acceptable and  beneficial standards. Corporate regulatory bodies prescribe codes of corporate  governance (CCG) that regulate the daily activities and performance of corporate  entities. However, it appears that despite the introduction of CCG in Nigeria and  South Africa, public companies are yet to deliver the desired results, due to noncompliance,  enforcement challenges and a lack of internal mechanisms to implement  the spirit and content of CCG. This research provides a comparative analysis of  boards and the compliance level of public companies in Nigeria and South Africa.  The research methodology adopts a combination of doctrinal legal research and  qualitative analysis. The research aims to discover how the two countries can benefit  from each other. The objectives include determining the level of knowledge of CCG,  the level of accountability of boards, the level of responsibility, and enforcement and  compliance levels. The research identifies the gaps in the law and practice, while  offering solutions on how best to apply and enforce the codes in the two countries.