Compliance as a competitive advantage: the impact of King V

The recent release of the latest update to South Africa’s internationally acclaimed King Codes on Corporate Governance marks a new chapter for ethical and effective leadership, as governance goes beyond regulatory box-ticking to a driver of sustainable value, say leading lawyers and international business analysts. 

Nine years after its predecessor, King V was released on 31 October 2025 by the Institute of Directors (IOD) in South Africa and the King Committee of South Africa. It supersedes King IV and is effective for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2026, with early adoption encouraged by the IOD and King Committee. 

The release of King V is not only a national milestone for South Africa, but a global inflection point for the ‘G’ in GRC that the wider world should pay heed to, says Michael Rasmussen, a US-based thought leader and pioneer in governance, risk, and compliance who was present in South Africa during King V’s publication. 

The new Code aims to guide organisations in tackling governance challenges in a fast-changing local and global landscape; from the climate crisis, geopolitical conflicts, and AI, to remuneration governance and regulatory changes. 

“South African organisations needed an up-to-date, robust benchmark for ethical and effective leadership that equips them to respond swiftly to emerging risks, opportunities and stakeholder expectations, while maintaining strategic coherence and adherence to ethical standards,” said Ansie Ramalho, Chair of the King Committee on Corporate Governance, as King V was released to some fanfare. 

She noted their revision had three overarching goals: 

1. to align the Code with evolving regulatory and governance developments;

2. to simplify and clarify its structure and content; and

3. to standardise disclosure in support of accessibility, transparency and consistency.

The governance landscape has shifted dramatically in the nine years since the publication of King IV, noted the IOD and King Committee. Organisations need a code of corporate governance that equips them to meet such challenges. 

“To do so, the Code should provide a robust framework for ethical and effective leadership and promote organisations going beyond compliance and demonstrating their commitment to long-term value creation and stakeholder inclusivity.”

Leading lawyers and business analysts have welcomed King V, which simplifies the Code’s language, structure and presentation to make it more accessible and practical across sectors; streamlines key principles from 17 to 12; and standardises disclosure requirements through a dedicated King V Disclosure Framework. 

King V puts compliance at the centre of governance, and raises the bar for board accountability, independence, sustainability, and information governance, says Rebecca Thomson, a dual-qualified litigator and Head of Baker McKenzie’s Investigations, Compliance and Ethics practice group based in Johannesburg. 

Speaking to Africa Legal ahead of the pioneering GC Forum Governance, Risk & Compliance in September, Thomson noted that “if you get the governance bit right, then everything else falls into place,” and that changing the cultures of organisations to ones of good governance frees up resources and opens up greater opportunities. 

This week, Thomson wrote that King V is a blueprint for modern, accountable boards, and that compliance is not a defensive posture, but the operating system for ethical leadership. “Compliance is not a defensive posture — it is the operating system for ethical leadership. Early adoption and genuine implementation of King V will help boards to earn stakeholder confidence, access capital on better terms, and build resilient value. In today’s environment, appreciating compliance as being central to governance is not just prudent — it is a competitive advantage.

Bowmans South Africa noted that while the King Codes are not legislation, their principles have been adopted as market best practice by most corporations, society and activists alike. The King principles are frequently considered and have been referenced by South African courts in matters involving directors, and incorporated into listing requirements, giving teeth to the requirements for listed companies.

Some of the key changes in King V, said Bowmans, were the shift in emphasis toward sustainable value creation, transparency and whistleblower protection, broader stakeholder interests, governing body independence considerations, and data and technology stewardship. King V also specifically references a broader definition of stakeholders and incorporates climate change and ESG concepts. 

Yesterday, Seipati Asante Mokhuoa, the founder and Chair of Strategic African Women in Leadership, said, “From where I stand, and for anyone who takes governance seriously, King V represents a recalibration of corporate conscience”. 

She noted several key shifts, with King V moving governance from box-ticking to an outcomes-based discipline where boards will be judged by impact not paperwork; repositioning leadership as both moral and strategic; advancing a systems view of sustainability; creating an expectation that boards govern technology with the same diligence as finance or risk; and cementing ESG integration as a board-level priority, 

“King V reaffirms South Africa’s leadership by bridging the moral, strategic, and operational dimensions of governance in ways that other frameworks have yet to achieve,” said Rasmussen in a lengthy LinkedIn article analysing its importance.

“South Africa’s achievement in governance is analogous to what Australia and New Zealand accomplished in risk management,” wrote Rasmussen. “Just as AS/NZS 4360 became the foundation for ISO 31000, giving the world a universal framework for managing uncertainty, the King Codes have given us the gold standard for corporate governance. Together, these two southern hemisphere contributions — King V for governance and ISO 31000 for risk — form the backbone of modern GRC.”

King V is available on the IoDSA website.