The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) promotes the development of sound corporate governance in Central and Eastern Europe and CIS countries in conjunction with their transition reforms. The development of a strong corporate governance framework is important to protect stakeholders and maintain investor confidence in the transition countries and the flow of foreign direct investment. Such corporate governance framework has to include the integrity and transparency of financial and corporate operations, checks and balances in compliance with applicable laws, and the practices of sound financial and corporate operations, and accounting practices that are in accordance with international standards. In the legal sector, laws that are enacted must be timely and consistently enforced. The laws must be clear and consistent: in areas of orderly entry and exit of firms, property and asset protection of investors, and transparency of the legal system. Therefore, effective corporate governance in the legal sector has to be developed simultaneously to support the transition to a market-oriented economy.
After 20 years of transition, most of the Central and Eastern Europe and CIS countries have transitioned successfully and in some areas, like the trade and foreign exchange sectors, are indistinguishable from Old Europe countries. The question of interest is how has corporate governance, or the lack of it, contributed to the degree of development to a market economy in the transition countries. Some transition countries have progressed further than others, and some have regressed. Some countries like Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia have very low effective corporate governance implemented resulting in high levels of corruption and fraud in the political and economic systems. Other countries like Poland and, Hungary and Latvia have strong corporate governance established. This paper looks at the importance of corporate governance as a significant factor in spurring economic growth in transition countries. First, this paper looks at the role of corporate governance in the transition to a market-oriented economy in the CEEC, SEE and CIS countries. Second, the paper investigates the different levels of corporate governance among the transition countries. Third, a study is conducted to look at the correlation between degree of corporate governance and economic growth. Lastly, this paper looks at lessons and policy implications applicable to the transition countries.