Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the compliance of Romanian listed companies with corporate governance codes. From 2010, the “Comply or Explain” Statement, which discloses if and how the corporate governance principles are applied, became mandatory for all companies listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE). The methodology employed is based on the analysis of the above mentioned Statements published for the period 2009-2013. Research aims to present through a longitudinal and qualitative study the evolution of the compliance with the BSE Corporate Governance Codes. Most of the observed companies made a step forward in what concerns corporate governance principles and over the study period they disclosed more information on their statements. On the other hand, we found cases where the statements made over the studied period contained inconsistencies for some principles. The implementation of corporate governance rules ensures transparent decision-making, based on clear rules and objectives, and increases shareholders’ confidence in the company.