Investment Week (March 13)
“The Parker Review has revealed targets to improve the ethnic diversity of the boards of FTSE 350 and the 50 largest private companies in the UK, with a deadline set for December 2027.” While the committee feels the progress being made with the FTSE 350 is satisfactory, it believes “equal access to board positions needs to be matched by actions across all levels in business.”
Tags: Boards, Deadline, December 2027, Equal access, Ethnic diversity, FTSE 350, Parker Review, Progress, Targets, UK
Financial Times (May 10)
The auditing sector is undergoing a “pitch battle” with new EU regulations that require companies at least tender their audits every 10 years and change auditors every 20 years. “So far the result has been a merry-go-round of audits swapping between the Big Four—PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG—which handle 98 per cent of FTSE 350 audits and 95 per cent of those for Fortune 500 companies.”
Tags: Auditors, Audits, Big Four, Deloitte, EU, EY, Fortune 500, FTSE 350, KPMG, PwC, Regulations, Tenders
Financial Times (November 27)
Since 2010, chairmen have been required by the UK Code on Corporate Governance to personally report on how the principles relating to the role and effectiveness of the board are being applied. Yet, the “chairmen of FTSE 350 companies are failing to take responsibility for corporate governance, with half making no mention of the issue in their annual report statements according to a review by Grant Thornton.”
Tags: Annual reports, Boards, Chairmen, Corporate governance, FTSE 350, UK
Financial Times (May 28)
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has “set a new high watermark for post-crises governance standards.” The largest 350 listed companies in the UK (the FTSE 350) are now asked to hold annual elections for each director. They are also being encouraged to adopt more diverse boards (only 12% of FTSE 100 directors are women) and utilize external reviews of board effectiveness on at least a triennial basis. Lastly, the new code makes clear that boards are responsible for risk management. This summer, the FRC will release a Stewardship code outlining the responsibilities of shareholders.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has “set a new high watermark for post-crises governance standards.” The largest 350 listed companies in the UK (the FTSE 350) are now asked to hold annual elections for each director. They are also being encouraged to adopt more diverse boards (only 12% of FTSE 100 directors are women) and utilize external reviews of board effectiveness on at least a triennial basis. Lastly, the new code makes clear that boards are responsible for risk management. This summer, the FRC will release a Stewardship code outlining the responsibilities of shareholders.
Tags: Boards, FRC, FTSE 350, Governance code, Stewardship
