Development of Corporate Governance in Ukraine: Legislation and Practices

Corporate governance has great importance for both companies and the state. Corporate governance helps to increase competitiveness and economic efficiency for companies by providing for: proper attention to the interests of shareholders; equilibrium of influence and balance of interests of corporate relations participants; financial transparency; the introduction of rules of effective management and proper control. Corporate governance significance for the state is demonstrated through its influence on social and economic development of the country: promotion of investment processes development, ensuring confidence and increasing investor credence; increasing the efficiency of the capital usage and the activities of companies; taking into account the interests of a wide range of stakeholders, which ensures the realization of companies’ activities to the benefit for both the society and the growth of national wealth. In this chapter the successes and weaknesses of the process of corporate governance development in Ukraine is analyzed. In particular, the main periods of this process are selected and characterized, the primary sources of corporate governance legislation in Ukraine are noticed, the principal authorities responsible for enforcing corporate governance regulations are described, and the activities of the most common organizational and legal forms of corporate entities are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the characteristics of current period of corporate governance development. The results of analysis of legislation regarding to the area of corporate governance are proposed.