Value Preservation Increasingly Acknowledged as Primary Purpose and Fiduciary Duty (Revised)

This paper outlines significant developments which have occurred in recent times (2016 – 2021) as a growing number of regulators, standard setters, and other governance bodies begin to include explicit references to the value preservation imperative. These incremental steps are now directly impacting on corporate boardrooms as the moral obligation to preserve, protect, and defend stakeholder value is increasingly viewed as an important corporate consideration in terms of both company purpose and fiduciary duty.This paper highlights the following important developments on this matter:- Global Stewardship Principles (ICGN 2016)- The Future of Audit (IAASB 2016)- Enhanced Organizational Reporting (IFAC 2017)- Enterprise Risk Management (COSO 2017)- Global Governance Principles (ICGN 2017)- UK Corporate Governance Code (FRC 2018)- Guidance on Investor Fiduciary Duties (ICGN 2018)- Defining Stewardship and Engagement (Investor Forum 2019)- Fit for Purpose (NACD 2019)- Integrated Corporate Governance (WEF 2020)- Global Stewardship Principles (ICGN 2020)- International Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRC 2021)- Global Governance Principles (ICGN 2021)- Integrated Thinking Principles (Value Reporting Foundation 2021)