The Parker Review Steering Committee's 'two years on' progress report on ethnic diversity on UK boards.

Should companies speak out about difficult social, political or environmental topics? If so, when? What does it mean for a company to ‘take a stand’?

Baroness Berridge, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System, has acknowledged the vital role that governance professionals play in academy trusts and confirmed that more widely promoting and supporting the role of the governance professional in trusts is at the top of the DfE’s priorities for this year.

Governance professionals in 2021 will be focusing their attention primarily on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters, remote working risk, climate change and diversity this year, according to a poll by ICSA: The Chartered Governance and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership. Of these, ESG is seen as the top priority, with the majority of respondents stating that it would be the biggest area of governance focus for 2021.

ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute has today welcomed the benevolent approach to charity trustees that today’s Kids Company verdict has upheld, whilst recognising that the 221-page verdict contains important lessons for all those involved in the governance of charities. Overall, the judgement underscores the importance of good governance: of effective oversight, training, assurance and risk management, all of which is best supported by a governance professional.

Some 80% of respondents to a poll out today from The Chartered Governance Institute and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership have confidence in the way their board is handling the current coronavirus pandemic. Just 2% have little confidence in the way their board is responding to the crisis.

ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute is pleased to announce that Victoria Penrice, a chartered governance professional with over thirty years of governance expertise, has been selected to be its new President, effective 1 August 2020.

According to a poll by ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership, the majority of companies are prepared for the UK to leave Europe with no trade deal in place. Some 71% of respondents, the majority of which hail from finance, commerce and industry, said that they are very prepared for a no trade deal scenario. Just 9% are not at all prepared and an additional 20% were unsure of how prepared their organisation was at the time the poll was carried out.

The Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) convenor responsible for gathering the views of trustees on the charity accounting framework has today begun work with trustees to gain an insight into their understanding of the framework. Trustees in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are being asked to complete a questionnaire which will help to clarify their position.