Independent board membership in the context of corporate governance codes

Today, economic situations of countries are in development with their efficiency and profitability, which are market actors, and its of huge importance that they can be managed in a traditional way. The results of bad management over the years, corruption and failures in big companies such as; Enron, WorldCom, Parmalat and Ahold in the United States of America and Europe, sudden bankruptcies, financial life and markets affected negatively. The developments in fraudulent accounting transactions have been the reason for questioning the principle of transparent management all over the world and good company management came to the fore. Also in company management; The codes of "fairness", "transparency", "accountability" and "responsibility" came to fore and then Corporate Governance Codes have been accepted worldwide. Being a product of institutionalization and leading the Corporate Governance Codes, "independent board membership" is obligatory for the company to adopt a corporate and professional identity, and it is necessary that the independent board members in the board of directors has to point an important role in the company's administrate within the Corporate Governance Codes. As a matter of fact, independent members have a balancing position in boards of directors. With the presence of independent members, the decisions taken by the company's board of directors are questioned, possible conflicts of interest are prevented and company supervision is made more effective. In this study independent board membership is expounded from in the point of corporate governance codes. Especially in multi-partner companies, independent members who do not have executive authority, who oversee the protection of the interests of many interest groups, especially stakeholders, contribute to the sustainability of the company and are a source of prestige for the company. The mission and powers granted to independent members in accordance with the legislation have an important effect in terms of protecting investors and activating public surveillance and auditing in public joint stock companies traded on the stock exchange. The responsibilities assigned to independent members and the prestige and honesty standards offered by independent members provide confidence for investors and other supervisory authorities. In addition, it is accepted that the professional experience, expertise and visionary perspective of independent members will contribute positively to the company strategy.