This article analyses the evolution of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Principles of Corporate Governance and the economic environment of their transformation, as well as the key changes in the third version of the document adopted in 2015. The authors conclude that this version reflects the recent challenges related to the role of stock exchanges in corporate governance, information disclosure and risk management. However, it is still oriented toward profit maximization amid the lack of attention to the balance of interests among stakeholders and to aspects of corporate governance related to the quality of life. Members of the Group of 20 (G20) that are not members of the OECD participated in revising the document, but this did not result in any dramatic changes in the structure or content of the principles.

This article focuses on the cooperation between the OECD and G20 countries, including non-OECD members, in the process of updating the principles in 2013–15. The authors identify three major mechanisms of cooperation: 1) discussion of corporate governance at regional roundtables and other international events related to corporate governance, 2) online consultations and 3) OECD peer reviews. The article studies the participation of six G20 countries that are not members of the OECD: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Indonesia. Brazil was the most active country under review — its representatives actively communicated with the OECD using all available mechanisms. The contributions of China, India, Indonesia and Russia were also estimated as high. The least active participant was South Africa.