Formulating a Whistleblowing Policy and it's Implementation

Shree Balakrishnan, Professor, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management

In line with best international governance practices, all enterprises, throughout the world, would like to put in place a system through which employees and its business associates may report unethical practices and infringements of the enterprise’s business code of conduct and ethics without fear of reprisal. All enterprises, by and large, put in place a process by which the employees and its business associates have direct access to the Audit Committee, Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director, Chairman of the Board and Compliance Officer who is generally the Company Secretary of the enterprise. This article deals elaborately on the following relating to whilstleblowing.

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India Compliance General May 2010 Vol. 3, No. 11, Spring 2010

Shree Balakrishnan

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Shree R Balakrishnan, popularly known as Bala is a renowned and qualified lawyer and member of seven professional bodies. He has been honoured with “Company Secretary of the year 2007- Corporate – Highly Commanded”, award by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of UK at a glittering ceremony in London, which is featuring in the Limca Book of National records in the year 2009. He is the first such professional in India to achieve this designation for his caliber to go beyond the requirements of his role to maximize opportunities for his organization and he has introduced measures for adoption of best global practices in all areas of business including compliance with UK Combined Code on corporate governance in his earlier organization where he served as a company secretary and legal services manager. Not only this, he is also certified as “Internal Control Specialist” (CICA) by the Institute of Internal Control from United States of America, making him a proud person to achieve this certification which also earned him a national record in Limca Book of national records in the year 2008. Further to this, Bala is also got his certification as “certified Internal Control Professional” (CICP) by the Institute of Internal Control from US, making him, once again, and a proud person to achieve this certification which also earned him a national record in Limca Book of national records in the year 2010. For more than 28 years, he has been serving with Foseco India Limited, at Pune, India, a GVC-II level certified company for its corporate governance practices and a listed company with Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange. He was the Company Secretary and Legal Services Manager of Foseco India Limited before he took up an overseas assignment at the Kingdom of Bahrain where he served about one and a half years as a group company secretary for HiTs Africa Limited – a telecom major who has its subsidiaries in Tanzania, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea. He has authored a book titled “Handbook on Audit Committee” and also co-authored a book of “Compliance Guide to Corporate Governance” and both of them were published by a leading book publisher known as Taxmann in India. He is well known for his contribution to a large number of professional journals and magazines and he has been delivering lectures and making presentations for the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and other professional bodies. He was a member of the panel set up by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of India jointly with the Government of India for introducing and implementing corporate practices in India and was also a member of the Research Committee of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India for its Western Regional office. Currently, Prof. Bala, is the visiting faculty of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management at Pune – India and he is teaching for the management students.

Symbiosis Institute of Business Management

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India Compliance General May 2010 Vol. 3, No. 11, Spring 2010