What does Governance, Integrity and Accountability in a Changing World truly mean and what is the forecast for Asia Pacific?

By Janani Wijetunge and Nithila Bandara

Across Asia and Oceania, tightening Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks, evolving regulatory mandates, and heightened public scrutiny have elevated corporate governance from a back-office compliance routine into a core strategic necessity. At the Forward Faster Now APAC 2026; Regional event (held on 11^th and 12^th August 2026) business executives, academic experts, and governance practitioners gathered to examine how companies can transition from paper-based policies to operational integrity, environmental stewardship, and systemic accountability.

Opening the deliberations at the session titled “Governance, Integrity & Accountability in a Changing World” Ratnesh Jha, Executive Director of UN Global Compact Network India, established the core imperative: while macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions remain volatile, ethical business conduct is the indispensable cornerstone of sustainability. Drawing on ancient governance philosophies and modern frameworks such as India’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR), he noted that genuine long-term commercial resilience cannot exist without uncompromising organizational integrity. His words bring forward Lokasangraha, from the Bhagavad Gita, reminding us that action should not be motivated purely by personal gain but for the greater good of the community and society.

The Implementation Dilemma: Institutional Voids & Compliance Decoupling

Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Shinya Fujino, Associate Professor at Vietnam Japan University and member of the Anti-Bribery Committee Japan, analyzed why corporate governance structures so frequently fail during operational execution. He introduced two foundational organizational concepts:

• Institutional Voids: Situations where formal statutory policies lack the supportive external infrastructure—such as independent judiciaries, capable auditing ecosystems, and enforceable whistleblower protections—required for real enforcement.
• Compliance Decoupling: A structural disconnect where corporate headquarters design sophisticated rulebooks and codes of conduct, yet ground-level operations diverge entirely due to local commercial pressures and unaddressed operational realities.

Citing comprehensive surveys of over 200 listed Japanese corporations, Dr. Fujino revealed that while companies score exceptionally high on risk awareness and written policy formulation, their organizational structures, responsibility allocations, and internal monitoring systems severely lag. More critically, the correlation between risk assessments and actual rule-setting remains surprisingly weak. He underscored the historic turnaround of Japan Airlines (JAL) under Kazuo Inamori, which succeeded because leadership accepted reality and empowered employees through a simple, deeply embedded philosophy: 'Doing what is right as a human being.' This may stand as the truest test of Governance and Integrity.

THE GOVERNANCE TRIAD: "Governance without integrity becomes an empty bureaucracy. Integrity without accountability is an unprovable private virtue. And accountability without governance is noise. All three must operate as one integrated system." — Dr. Shinya Fujino

Pulse of the Region: Live Insights & Practice Gaps

An interactive Menti meter session moderated by Janani Wijetunge, Head of Programmes and Governance at UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka, captured real-time data from corporate leaders and compliance heads across the region attending the session:

Operationalizing Integrity: Sectoral Case Studies

From Measuring Integrity to Managing It: A Data-Driven Governance Imperative

A further lesson from the regional discussion is that integrity cannot be managed effectively if it is not measured. Resolution 11/5 of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (CoSP11) places renewed emphasis on strengthening the collection, analysis and responsible dissemination of quality data to measure corruption and its impacts, and to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of anti-corruption and integrity measures. For businesses, this principle offers a practical way to move beyond policy compliance towards evidence-based integrity: companies need to know not only whether a control exists, but whether it is working.

For the private sector, this means developing a proportionate integrity measurement system that brings together information from whistleblowing channels, investigations, corruption risk registers, third-party due diligence, conflicts of interest, gifts and hospitality, procurement, training, disciplinary actions, and other relevant compliance processes. Analysing trends, recurring vulnerabilities and outcomes can help boards and management identify where controls are failing, where risks are emerging, and where resources should be directed. Where feasible, data should be disaggregated appropriately and anonymized, while collection, processing and disclosure should respect applicable data protection, privacy and employment laws.

Technology can strengthen this approach. Digital compliance platforms, operational dashboards, and analytics can improve the quality, timeliness, and reliability of integrity data, while enabling organizations to identify patterns across business units and supply chains. This builds directly on the regional examples discussed at Forward Faster Now APAC 2026: Fakir Fashion's real-time operational dashboards and Dialog Axiata's digital compliance tracking demonstrate how visibility can turn integrity from a policy statement into an operational management tool.

Resolution 11/5 also points to the value of objective, standardized, and context-sensitive methodologies and indicators, developed with relevant expertise. For companies operating across Asia Pacific, a common measurement approach could help boards compare risk exposure and control effectiveness across markets without assuming every country or business unit has the same legal, institutional or operating context. At the same time, responsible sharing of aggregated lessons and good practices—where legally and commercially appropriate—can support collective learning across sectors and supply chains.

The implication is significant: integrity data should not become another reporting exercise. It should form part of the governance feedback loop—risk identification, control design, implementation, measurement, remediation and board oversight. This is how organizations can test whether their governance architecture is actually changing behaviour and reducing exposure to corruption, rather than simply demonstrating that a policy exists.

Manufacturing & Supply Chain Visibility: Focus Apparel Sector & Fakir Fashion Ltd. (Bangladesh)

Md. Atiqul Islam (Apu), Head of Compliance and Sustainability at Fakir Fashion Ltd. in Bangladesh, demonstrated how supply chain alignment turns abstract policies into shop-floor reality across an enterprise of 21,000+ workers. In ready-made garment (RMG) manufacturing, tight delivery deadlines (18–20 days to Europe) leave zero room for compliance failures. Fakir Fashion Ltd. bridged the policy-practice gap by deploying real-time digital dashboards directly onto the factory floor, tracking attendance, production targets, water, and energy use. By giving line workers and supervisors direct visibility of KPIs, workers become owners of compliance and sustainability goals rather than passive checklist recipients.

Telecommunications & Anti-Bribery Controls: Dialog Axiata PLC (Sri Lanka)

Nicole Elias, Assistant Manager - ABAC, Integrity and Ethics Compliance at Dialog Axiata PLC, outlined how Sri Lanka's Anti-Corruption Act legally recognizes private-sector corruption, making business integrity mandatory. Drawing on insights from the UN Global Compact Business Integrity Think Lab, she emphasized Dialog Axiata's T.R.U.S.T. Framework:

• Tone from the Top: Leadership modeling uncompromising ethics where performance never supersedes integrity.
• Risk Management: Establishing granular department-specific corruption risk registers.
• Undertake Control Measures: Clear SOPs addressing cultural dilemmas like festive gift-giving and business hospitality.
• Systematic Monitoring: Independent internal reviews, third-party vetting, and digital compliance tracking.
• Training & Awareness: Contextualized, multi-level ethical onboarding and recurring scenario workshops.

A key addition to this roadmap is the creation of an integrity measurement loop: identify what matters, collect reliable and responsibly governed data, analyse trends and impacts, evaluate whether controls work, and use the findings to strengthen governance and accountability.

This approach is consistent with the direction of CoSP11 Resolution 11/5, which encourages stronger capacity to collect, compile, analyse and disseminate quality data; responsible data management and protection; stronger coordination and data interoperability; and the use of objective, standardized and context-sensitive methodologies to evaluate anti-corruption and integrity measures.

To protect employees, Dialog instituted the anonymous 'Speak Up' portal managed through independent infrastructure, guaranteeing strict non-retaliation and prompt escalation directly to board-level oversight.

To assist regional enterprises in bridging policy-practice disconnects, the session panelists synthesized the following actionable roadmap:

Conclusion: The Imperative of Transformational Governance

The data imperative therefore strengthens the article's central message: transformational governance requires organizations to be able to demonstrate, with credible evidence, whether their integrity systems are reducing risks and improving behaviour. For private-sector leaders across Asia Pacific, measuring integrity is not simply a compliance obligation; it is a governance capability that can improve decision-making, strengthen stakeholder trust and enable more targeted collective action.

In closing reflections, UN Global Compact corporate leaders re-emphasized that regulatory compliance is the foundation of responsible business, but true governance, integrity and accountability require organizations to go beyond minimum legal requirements. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) requires Transformational Governance an active, transparent, and collaborative ethos that protects workers, sustains natural capital, and builds enduring stakeholder trust across borders.

This article is published in the authors' personal capacities and reflects their perspectives based on their professional and academic engagement with governance, integrity and accountability. It does not necessarily represent the official views or position of the United Nations Global Compact or UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka.

About the Writers

Janani Wijetunge is Head of Programmes & Governance at the UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka.

Nithila Bandara is an Intern in Environmental & Supply Chain Sustainability at the UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka. She is currently pursuing a BSc in Politics and International Relations at the University of Bristol.