The Chartered Governance Institute has today published guidance about ‘Shareholder meetings under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020’. The guidance has been drafted by a Working Party of the City of London Law Society Company Law Committee and the Institute, with the support of GC100, the Investment Association and the Quoted Companies Alliance. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Financial Reporting Council have both endorsed the guidance, which is an updated version of guidance about AGMs issued by the Institute in March 2020.

The Chartered Governance Institute has welcomed today’s release by the Education & Skills Funding Agency of its ‘Academies financial handbook 2020’, in which the role of the clerk is recognised for the important advisory support that it brings to academy trusts.

ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute is delighted that the government has extended the flexibilities around the arrangement of company meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic included in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the Act) to 30 December 2020.

Recent research indicates that charity boards are reporting ESG matters but as discrete parts of good governance rather than considering them holistically.

The Chartered Governance Institute and Bates Wells have today published guidance around the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 which could provide some help to charities, social enterprises and mutuals in financial difficulty. A separate piece of guidance about holding general meetings during the current pandemic has also been published.

Of general interest to all members.

For employers, an SAYE Scheme can encourage employee engagement and improve retention. While historically a very popular scheme, following Brexit the number of licensed savings carriers in the Irish market fell and the last licensed savings carrier exited the market in early 2021. Since then, it has not been possible to establish or grant new options under a SAYE Scheme. However, with the anticipated announcement of a new licensed savings carrier before the summer, employers should reconsider the benefits of offering a Revenue approved SAYE Scheme.

We now look at how ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) reporting is linked to modern slavery.

Assuming the FCA and PRA’s proposals move forward given the government’s decision to pause new regulations for a non-financial reporting review, the Institute has responded to the consultation.