Heh! Why should we – in developing countries – worry about financial transparency and upgrading Board practices?
The best line I’ve ever seen regarding this comes from Teresa over at one of the IFC’s blogs:
The answer to that question is: competitors will eat your lunch.
She gives an example of a manager at a small firm in Serbia. Instead of hiring family members or close friends, he employed the best managers he could find in the market. He also instituted an impartial board of directors who would tell him what they really thought about his decisions … it worked beautifully.