Paul McCullagh, Company Secretary at Dublin-based Barclays Europe has been named Company Secretary of the Year by ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute at the Institute’s 2020 Awards. Paul was recognised for his drive and commitment to ensure Barclays Europe is at the forefront of best practice corporate governance, something which has earned him the respect and confidence of the Board.

The winners of this year’s ICSA Awards were announced at a glittering awards dinner at the Park Lane Hilton in London last night. Hosted by comedian Simon Evans, the awards welcomed 670 of the UK’s leading governance professionals who were there to celebrate the achievements of those organisations, individuals and teams that are leading the way in good governance and corporate reporting.

Of interest to all involved in governance in the charity sector.

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ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute has today released the findings of its review into the effectiveness of independent board evaluation in the UK listed sector. The review, which was carried out at the request of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), assessed the quality of evaluations and has identified a number of ways in which board evaluation might be improved.

A new report out today from The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland and the Centre for Synchronous Leadership has revealed that many boardrooms have worryingly low levels of psychological safety and are avoiding important conversations that involve vulnerability or challenge. COVID-19 has made this behaviour even more of a liability. Unsurprisingly, the worst offenders are more likely to have poor chairing. However, both characteristics are strongly correlated with the extent to which boards and executive committees invest in team alignment.

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Fiona Chalk, Governance Consultant & Trainer at Governance4FE has been named Governance Champion of the Year by ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute, the professional body for governance. Fiona, founder of Governance4FE, a community organisation that specialises solely in Further Education governance, received the award for the work that she has done to improve outcomes for students by increasing the effectiveness of those tasked with the oversight of governance in the further education and skills sector.

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.