Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Secretary-General Angel Gurría has called for a new drive to raise corporate governance standards.

Over the coming weeks, the OECD will meet with governments, regulators, the private sector and other stakeholders to discuss the corporate governance lessons of the current financial crisis. It plans to make a statement on its findings and recommendations following the next meeting of the OECD Steering Group on Corporate Governance on Nov. 19 and 20.

It will also be pushing to strengthen implementation of the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, first launched in 1999 and adopted by the Financial Stability Forum as one of its 12 core standards for sound financial systems in March 2000.

The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance are designed to help governments, regulatory bodies and companies draw up and implement effective systems for the governance of publicly quoted companies. Last revised in 2004 following a series of corporate failures that had undermined investor confidence, the Principles emphasize the need for companies to be accountable to investors; advocate an effective role for shareholders in areas such as executive compensation; and urge increased transparency and disclosure to counter conflicts of interest.

“Rebuilding investor confidence will be vital to helping the economy get back on track,” Gurría told business leaders attending a meeting to discuss corporate governance issues. “Strengthening the rules, regulations and codes of corporate governance will be central to this. I call on member countries to work urgently with us to address major corporate governance failures. This will be a vital step to reinforcing market integrity.”