Universidad de Lima

On Thursday, February 16, 2017, the University of Lima signed a cooperation agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an institution of the World Bank Group, which is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), in order to establish the Corporate Governance Center of the University of Lima (CGCUL), turning the University of Lima into the main academic partner of the IFC in Peru.

The CGCUL will be a multidisciplinary space of collaboration and innovation in Peru for the research, training, dissemination and monitoring on the implementation of good practices of corporate governance, involving the private industry, the State, international agencies, civil society and academic community.

The agreement was signed by Óscar Quezada, President of the University of Lima, and Marc Tristant, Country Head and Principal Investment Officer of the IFC. The rest of the IFC delegation was also present, consisting of Davit Karapetyan, Regional Corporate Governance Lead for Latin America and The Caribbean; Oliver Orton, Regional Corporate Governance Program Manager for Latin America and The Caribbean; and Fiorella Amorrortu and Jorge Echeandía, who are both Corporate Governance Officers. Furthermore, representing the University of Lima, the Vice president, Jaime León, the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, Patricia Stuart, and the professors of the School of Business, María del Pilar Palacios and Julia Velarde, were present.

Partners in a corporate academic meeting

Before the agreement was signed, Marc Tristant congratulated the University of Lima for the initiative of establishing the first Corporate Governance Center in partnership with the IFC in Peru while expressing how honored they were to assist the University throughout the process. Then, he affirmed:

“Our choosing of the University of Lima acknowledges the reputation, the path of the institution and, in that sense, the impact we are able to make with you, and through you, on the society, with companies, with the students themselves, in order to achieve a better use, better practices, better experiences of the integrity of all the things that the corporate governance represents, which definitely starts with people: moral behavior, ethics, integrity.”

He also emphasized the importance of this initiative for a developing market such as the Peruvian, and he said that he would like to see its growth “strengthened through the University of Lima and the implementation of the corporate governance, in order for the markets, companies and trading to be more sustainable.”

Afterwards, Óscar Quezada took the floor and highlighted the options of working with the IFC “for the combination of the values we are determined to follow: usual values in the corporate world, such as process efficiency, effectiveness of results, good practices and transparency, which all together combine what should be named as good corporate governance, thereby placing, along with the word ‘good’, the ethics in the center of the corporate know-how.” He then mentioned that, in critical times regarding bad practices (corruption and mishandling by both entrepreneurs and authorities), “it is very important, I would say it is crucial, that a university as the University of Lima and a highly respected institution as the IFC come together in order to develop these programs, training sessions and projects.”

Our president highlighted the projection and the extent of this meeting, which he called a “corporate academic meeting,” and he said that not only is this agreement limited to the University of Lima and the IFC, but it also extends to the corporate setting of Latin America and Peru, as well as to the academic environment of associated universities or academic institutions that work with the University of Lima. Finally, and before signing the agreement, he said: “As a university, we have high expectations, great hope for fruitful, honest, clear and efficient work aimed for good corporate practices, for good corporate governance.”

With an impact on society and academic education

Corporate governance is a system by which companies are managed and directed. In other words, it establishes the policies, regulations and procedures in which the company makes decisions and regulates the relationship between the governance bodies and the different stakeholder groups, having shared value creation and sustainability as a central focus.

Good corporate governance is important because it enables companies to be more transparent and efficient, which builds better trust in the markets and allows them to reduce the risk, gain greater credit access, improve the image of the company, attract the best talent and be preferred by the customers. Thus, there is a positive impact in terms of corporate value and competitiveness. If this cycle is repeated year after year, the company is able to secure results of sustainable businesses in the long term. This way, companies are able to create greater wealth, more jobs, and increase economic activities and development.

The Corporate Governance Center of the University of Lima will organize different activities in order to disseminate, train, investigate and monitor the implementation of good practices which characterize a good corporate governance, in order to impact positively on the way of doing businesses and contribute to the development of the country.