King IV is not just for JSE-listed companies. It was deliberately drafted to apply, proportionally, to private companies, non-profits, retirement funds, and SMEs, not just large public entities. It's a non-statutory code, so a private SME isn't legally compelled to follow it, but its governance principles, ethical leadership, sound performance management, effective risk oversight, succession planning, are the same practices that help a growing business access financing and build the credibility lenders and investors look for.
King V was published in 2025 and consolidates King IV's 17 principles into 13, in simpler language, explicitly designed to scale from SMEs to large corporations without needing separate sector supplements. King IV remains a useful and widely referenced foundation, and much of what follows still applies conceptually, but if you're setting up governance practices now, benchmark against King V, not King IV.
King IV was specifically requested to be drafted so it could apply more easily across public and private, large and small, for-profit and not-for-profit organisations. It's a non-statutory code, not legislation, meaning it isn't mandatory in the way tax or company law compliance is. For companies listed on the JSE, compliance is a mandatory listing requirement. For everyone else, King IV is universally regarded as the benchmark for good governance rather than a legal obligation, though a court may still consider its principles when assessing whether a director met their fiduciary duties under Section 76 of the Companies Act.
King IV's SME sector supplement defines an SME as a private, for-profit company with a Public Interest Score of 350 or more, calculated under regulation 26(2) of the Companies Act. That said, the supplement's guidance, along with King IV's broader principles, remains useful for smaller entities below that threshold too. The point of the sector supplement is application guidance, not a hard eligibility cutoff.
King IV's central innovation for smaller organisations is scalability. A large or medium entity might maintain a dedicated audit and risk committee. A smaller entity, without the resources for that structure, might instead dedicate a portion of the board's time to risk management and audit-related duties, or assign one board member specific responsibility for that oversight. The principle, informed risk oversight, stays the same. The mechanism for achieving it scales down.
Rather than attempting a full governance overhaul, focus on the principles King IV itself flags as foundational for smaller entities:
The honest answer is that good governance is a credibility signal. A business that can demonstrate real risk oversight, a genuine succession plan, and a board that actually deliberates rather than rubber-stamps decisions, is a more attractive prospect for a bank assessing a loan, an investor considering equity, or a larger corporate deciding whether to bring your business into their supply chain. King IV's own stated objectives include helping SMEs access financing and strengthen sustainability, not just satisfying an abstract governance ideal.
Not sure which governance principles actually matter for a business your size? Dyantyi Chartered helps founders apply King-aligned governance proportionally, without overbuilding structure you don't need yet.
No. King IV is a non-statutory code, not legislation. It's mandatory as a JSE listing requirement for listed companies, but for private SMEs it's a voluntary standard applied proportionally, though courts may still consider its principles when assessing whether a director met their fiduciary duties under the Companies Act.
King IV's SME sector supplement defines an SME as a private, for-profit company with a Public Interest Score of 350 or more, calculated under regulation 26(2) of the Companies Act. Smaller entities below that threshold can still use the supplement's guidance, applying the principles proportionally.
Instead of adopting the same governance structures as a large listed company, an SME scales practices to its size and resources. A large company might have a dedicated audit and risk committee; a smaller entity might instead allocate a portion of the board's time to those functions or assign one board member responsibility for them.
King V, published in 2025, succeeds King IV. It consolidates King IV's 17 principles into 13, is written in simpler language, and is explicitly designed to scale across all South African organisations, including SMEs, rather than requiring separate sector supplements to be practical for smaller entities.
King IV notes that applying its principles, even proportionally, can help SMEs access financing, strengthen sustainability, and build the kind of credibility investors and lenders look for. Basic practices like ethical leadership, performance management, and succession planning benefit a growing business regardless of legal obligation.