Austrian Code of Corporate Governance
January 2009
Austrian Code of Corporate Governance
January 2009
Disclaimer: The English translation of the Austrian Corporate Governance Code serves information purposes only. The exclusively binding version shall be the German text.
Publisher: Austrian Working Group for Corporate Governance c/o Office of the Representative for Capital Market Development and Corporate Governance Federal Ministry of Finance Hintere Zollamtstraße 2b, 1030 Wien Vienna, April 2009
Preface
The Austrian Code of Corporate Governance presented to the public on 1 October 2002 has become an indispensable part of the Austrian corporate governance system and is viewed by investors as well as by issuers as an effective instrument for building confidence. It is a benchmark for good corporate governance and corporate control on the Austrian capital market. The Corporate Governance Report, which was made mandatory by the Austrian Business Code Amendment Act 2008 (Unternehmensrechtsänderungsgesetz) for all exchange-listed companies, also provides for the inclusion of a declaration on any deviations from the recognized Corporate Governance Code thus heightening the significance of the Austrian Code of Corporate Governance. According to the preamble of the Austrian Code of Corporate Governance, the Code must be reviewed annually in the light of national and international developments, and if necessary, amended. The 2009 revision of the Code emphasizes the goal of the Austrian Code to meet the most modern international and European standards and to incorporate any changes to national law quickly into the Code. When revising the Code, attention was given to ensuring a broad and transparent discussion with the involvement of all interest groups. Our special thanks are owed to the capital market participants and institutions that sent comments and actively took part in the discussion process. At this point, I would also like to thank the members...