Business intelligence firm LexisNexis has lauded the introduction of King V. Governance of South African organisations has entered a new era since the beginning of 2026.
Lizanne Engelbrecht, Executive Manager of Content at LexisNexis, said that the introduction of King V will reshape the country’s governance landscape with a clearer, more accessible framework designed to strengthen accountability, improve transparency and improve organisational reporting across every sector.
Engelbrecht added that King V arrived at an important period for South African business. “Governance can no longer be treated as a procedural formality. King V represents a fundamental reorientation toward value creation, transparency and social accountability that all organisations will need to embrace.” She said that previously governance discourse was dominated by technical language and complex sector-specific frameworks. “While King IV expanded corporate responsibility, it also introduced intricacies that proved challenging particularly for small and medium enterprises. King V addresses this by restructuring the Code around a unified Disclosure Framework and easing the language and replacing fragmented supplements with a unified Disclosure Framework,” Engelbrecht said.
Importantly, Engelbrecht said, the new document addressed complexity. The changes in King V re-engineer the Code around a unified Disclosure Framework, a reduction in the number of principles from 17 to 13, proportionality and governance outcomes.In addition she noted that it eases the language and replaces fragmentation with a unified reporting logic that guides companies on how best to report on their governance practices.
Under the new framework, all organisations including SMEs, non-profits, NGOs, large corporates and state-owned entities will be assessed against the same governance principles, disclosed through a common reporting framework.. “By introducing a standardised reporting architecture, King V breaks down barriers that previously made good governance inaccessible to many entities,” Engelbrecht noted. “It strengthens comparability, improves stakeholder confidence and ensures that good governance becomes actionable rather than aspirational.” The burden is also on companies to apply and explain. This means that organisations must not only to indicate whether a governance principle was applied but also show measurable outcomes. “How they move the needle becomes the apex.”
In addition, Engelbrecht said, skirting compliance through language opacity will no longer suffice. “Companies must now show evidence of coherence, intention and effect.”
King V is also distinctly future focused. It introduces progressive guidance on technology, information governance and digital risk, placing artificial intelligence or AI, cybersecurity and data stewardship firmly on the agenda and accountability roster of Boards and executive teams. “With digital systems expanding rapidly, King V makes it clear that accountability sits at the highest level,” Engelbrecht added. “If AI is used, it must be ethical, transparent and secure, with proper human oversight and well-documented decision pathways.”
Also, King V is anchored in the principle of Ubuntu-Botho, reinforcing the idea of double materiality. Organisations must now consider how sustainability issues affect financial performance and how their activities in turn affect society and the environment. This approach integrates financial return with social value, manifesting the ideal of a triple bottom line.
Whistleblower protection has also received an upgrade. King V requires organisations to implement protected and anonymous reporting mechanisms and ensure that individuals who speak out do not face retaliation. “South Africa’s corporate failures in recent years show the cost of unreported ethical breaches,” Engelbrecht said. “Culture and governance are inseparable, and accountability cannot thrive where people are afraid to speak.”
Engelbrecht said that ultimately the greatest risk lies in superficial adoption of King V. The Code warns against a check box approach. “Governance cannot be claimed. It must be evidenced,” said Engelbrecht. The Disclosure Template will standardise reporting processes and help organisations show tangible outcomes, she noted.
“King V is not enforced through direct sanctions,” Engelbrecht said, “but disingenuous reporting, failure to transition or gaps in governance practice carry significant reputational and sustainability risks. In today’s global economy, no business can afford to undermine stakeholder trust.”
King V places South Africa’s governance environment on firmer ground, where accountability is measurable and value creation extends beyond the balance sheet.
About LexisNexis Legal & Professional
LexisNexis® Legal & Professional provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,800 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.
For over 85 years LexisNexis South Africa has been at the forefront of legal content and technology, driven by its commitment to the vision of ‘Enhancing the Potential of the African Continent by Advancing the Rule of Law’. With its strong community of legal professionals, it advances the practice of law. Through its corporate solutions, it advances compliance with the law. Finally, LexisNexis partners closely with government to advance the upholding of the law. Today, LexisNexis South Africa provides the most trusted and credible legal and regulatory content and intelligent, digital platforms. Its corporate solutions guide clients to better decisions, grounded in the latest legislation and regulatory developments. LexisNexis® prides itself on offering unmatched content accuracy together with superior technology. From e-signature to GRC, LexisNexis equips today’s organisation to protect against risk in the most robust way.
About RELX
RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs more than 33,000 people over 40% of whom are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX.
