Corporate governance perception in joint stock companies: A case study for city of Afyonkarahisar

The purpose of this research is to investigate at which level the principles of corporate governance that have been tried to be applied for 10 years are perceived by the joint stock companies, which are recorded in the trade enrollment of Afyonkarahisar city.. The developing corporate governance concept which improves as parallel to the financial expansion in the world, is begining to become an obligation both for companies and inverstors, also it going out for being just an advise. Those principles which are not only prepared toward the solution of financial crises or scandals, but also to regulate the relationships between the companies and its stakeholders, providing the handbook service to the companies in terms of good company management. In this work, the harmony of principles of corporate governance is tested by various questions for the joint stock companies in Afyonkarahisar. The survey questions which are applied to 52 joint stock companies are prepared with referances to SPK (Capital Market Board) and OECD?s corporate governance principles. According to the picture, in the end of the research, managers have the perception about corporate governance, however; there are sort of lacunas detected in the implementation or the execution of these principles. Key Words: Corporate Governance, Corporate Governance Rating, Independent Audit, Family-Owned Companies, Corporate Governance Index.