He said a sound and predictable legal framework remained the backbone of a thriving business climate, ensuring fairness, protecting stakeholders, and creating the certainty that businesses needed to invest and innovate. He was delivering a goodwill message at the Stakeholder Symposium of the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) in Accra. 

Dr Ayine commended the ORC for convening the symposium on the theme, “Resetting the Business Environment: The Role of Enterprise Risk Management,” describing it as timely given the growing complexity of risks confronting businesses. He said the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992), which created the ORC as an autonomous body, had been a turning point in Ghana’s corporate governance and regulatory framework. 

Dr Ayine said since its outdooring on July 23, 2022, the ORC had worked to register, regulate, and educate businesses to promote compliance and transparency. “These three pillars—registration, regulation, and education—are essential to a thriving business environment, and I commend the ORC for its continued efforts in fostering a culture of sound corporate governance,” he said. The Attorney-General also acknowledged the role of the media in amplifying outcomes of the symposium, adding that their work was crucial in promoting transparency, compliance, and risk awareness across the business community. 

Mrs Maame Samma Peprah, Acting Registrar of Companies, in a welcome address, said the symposium reflected the ORC’s commitment to creating a transparent, risk-conscious and business-friendly environment. She described the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) as a landmark reform that introduced modern governance standards, enhanced accountability, and greater transparency obligations for businesses. 

A major outcome of the Act, she said, was the establishment of the ORC as an autonomous regulator with a threefold mandate to register, regulate and educate businesses. “These three pillars registration, regulation and education are not just functions; they are the backbone of a credible business environment. 

They shape how investors view us, how businesses operate, and how society at large interacts with the formal sector.,” she said. 

Mrs Peprah said reforms under the Act, such as beneficial ownership disclosure, filing of annual returns, auditor tenure limits, and strengthened enforcement powers for the Registrar, aligned closely with enterprise risk management by improving accountability and reducing systemic risks. 

She added that adopting robust Enterprise Risk Management practices would empower businesses to anticipate challenges, safeguard assets, and build resilience in an increasingly uncertain global environment. The symposium brought together stakeholders in the business environment to deliberate on practical strategies for embedding risk management into Ghana’s business and regulatory landscape.