‘Not the old days’

Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Komal Singh recently urged businesses to develop proper corporate governance structures and prioritise getting the necessary certifications.

At a PSC local content summit at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown, he stressed that these elements are essential for growth and access to finance, and represent basic, fundamental standards that any business should strive to meet.

He spoke at an event that was designed to gather innovative ideas from businesses on how to advance local content, particularly within the rapidly expanding oil and gas sector.

“Many of us in the old days never used to focus a lot on corporate governance and certification, but in the environment that we are operating today, especially in the oil and gas sector, this is very critical for us as companies,” he expressed.

Even as many local companies have already achieved ISO certification and are continuing to do so, Singh called on more in the business community to do the same.

“I want to implore on more of you to make sure you get your company certified, make sure you have proper audited financial statements, make sure you have proper accounting standards within your organisation; environmental standards,” he urged.

These are very critical components, he told the participants, especially when going to banks to look for financing.

“A lot of companies continue to complain about access to finance, but when you look at some of them carefully, they lack some of these basic things.”

Singh pointed out that these basic, fundamental standards are not only important for access to finance, but also for getting businesses into the oil and gas sector.