The adoption of corporate governance by small and medium enterprises in City Of Tshwane.

M. Tech. Business AdministrationSmall and medium enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly seen as playing an important role in the economies of many countries. Thus, governments throughout the world focus on the development of the SME sector to promote economic growth. However, SMEs suffer from a high failure rate. The adoption of corporate governance is one of the factors that can help to improve the performance and reduce the high failure rate of SMEs in South Africa. The primary objective of this study was to establish the adoption of corporate governance principles by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In addition, the study investigated the barriers to the adoption of corporate governance by SMEs. Principles adopted from the King 111 report were used to measure the corporate governance of SMEs. Four principles were used by this study to measure the adoption of corporate governance by SMEs. These were (1) Management of risk: this included accounting measures, control system and risk management. (2) Use of information technology. (3) Responsible and ethical leadership and (4) Compliance with applicable laws and rules. The study area was Tshwane Central Business District