Nairobi, June 18 -- Benjamin Franklin, former US president, once observed, "In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes." Two and a half centuries later, tax has become more than a legal obligation. It is now a defining test of how companies are governed.

Tax transparency, compliance, and dispute management increasingly shape corporate reputation, investor confidence, and long-term sustainability.

This matters well beyond the boardroom. Pension savings are invested in listed companies whose share values can collapse under tax scandals. Government revenue lost to poor corporate tax practices is revenue not spent on roads, hospitals, or schools. Tax governance, in other words, is everyone's concern.

For decades, tax sat quie...