The Chartered Governance Institute, UK & Ireland, has responded to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) consultation on the review of the UK Corporate Governance Code (the Code) to urge it to protect the huge benefits of the strong governance environment in the UK, balancing the desire to improve the Code against the proportionality of any additional reporting.

In this podcast Kerry Round, Founding Director of Round Governance Services, outlines how the governance of a company will change following an Initial Public Offering (IPO). She covers board structure, responsibilities, composition, and the need for board diversity. The discussion outlines how an IPO will affect important stakeholders such as employees, the policies the company will need to have in place, what disclosures will be required, and which external bodies the company secretary or governance professional will find themselves dealing with on a regular basis. Kerry describes an IPO as a career highlight and the role of the company secretary or governance professional in a listed company as fabulous.

In this podcast Sharon Constançon, CEO of Genius Boards, offers advice for company secretaries and governance professionals on managing the challenges they face in their role, from gaining feedback and stretching themselves to learning tactics to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Sharon advises compartmentalising the noise of the role to gain control of it. She describes how to handle the inevitable left hook and the value of being the trusted expert who absorbs panic rather than creating it. Sharon highlights the power of conversation initiated by the governance professional to fix a broken relationship, as well as discussing how to own up to a mistake and how to avoid being seen as a ‘blocker’.

In this podcast, James Beasley, Senior Director at Nasdaq Governance Solutions, discusses how organisations and boards can evolve their risk management practices in response to a changing risk landscape. James outlines how non-financial risks are becoming more prominent and discusses the challenges in managing these less tangible, more complex risks. He argues that their universal nature means that organisations can no longer afford to forgo risk oversight and governance. James describes how many organisations are innovating to ensure they are equipped to manage what is becoming an increasingly complex space.

In this podcast Alex Efthymiades, Director and Founder of Consensio, discusses workplace conflict. Alex argues we aren’t taught the skills we need to successfully navigate conflict; therefore, we avoid it because it feels uncomfortable. However, Alex believes conflict can be positive, enabling us to clear the air and become more productive. She says it’s important to create a workplace environment where healthy conflict can flourish. This can be done by establishing psychological safety where everyone feels able to speak up without being punished. This is particularly important in the boardroom, where constructive challenge is needed to avoid groupthink.

The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland (CGIUKI) welcomes the Charity Commission’s updated guidance on making charity investments, Investing charity money: guidance for trustees, also known as CC14.

CGI welcomes the plan for a new independent regulator in English football which was announced in the King's Speech but we are concerned that expectations of reform are unrealistically high, and that the Football Governance Bill announced in the King’s Speech on 7th November is promising more than it can possibly deliver.

ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute has today published new guidance about company AGMs and the impact of Covid-19, which reflects the continuing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on companies’ ability to hold physical general meetings. Prepared in association with the City of London Law Society Company Law Committee and Martin Moore QC, with the support of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Financial Reporting Council, the guidance offers advice on how listed companies might hold meetings during the 2021 AGM season.

A survey of FTSE 350 companies out today finds that British boards are optimistic about the economy and much more focussed on climate change than was previously the case. They are also aligned on the importance of employees and corporate culture, according to the report published by The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland in association with the Financial Times.