The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland has today welcomed the publication by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of the UK Stewardship Code 2020 (the Code), believing that the revised version reflects the changing needs of asset owners and public expectations. The governance body believes, however, that the increased focus on reporting to asset owners may have an impact on the quality and quantity of engagement with companies and the emphasis on ESG issues risks provoking more ‘policy statements’ than the ‘outcomes and effectiveness’ focus recommended by the Kingman review. The FRC and its successor will need to monitor asset manager reporting and activity to ensure that this is not the case, the Institute stresses.

Organisations are still failing to provide enough support to staff in terms of their mental health according to a poll out today from The Chartered Governance Institute and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership. Fewer than half (45%) of respondents to the poll believe that their organisation does enough to support staff’s mental health, with over a quarter (26%) stating that their organisation does not do enough. A similar poll a year ago found parallel results: 49% of respondents believed that their organisation did enough to support employees’ mental well-being and 31% believed that their organisation did not.

Only 23% of the 234,510 companies that are legally obliged to register their ownership details with the Companies Registration Office by 22nd November 2019 had done so by yesterday, Wednesday 13th November. This, despite the possibility of fines of up to €500,000 in the worst-case scenario.

Wendy Stanger, Director of Governance at East Coast College has been awarded an accolade for good governance by The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland, organiser of the prestigious CGIUKI Awards 2019. Wendy won the coveted Governance Professional of the Year award at a glittering awards celebration at the Park Lane Hilton in London last night.

Peter Lee, Trust Secretary of the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded an accolade for good governance by The Chartered Governance Institute, organiser of the prestigious ICSA Awards 2019. Peter won the coveted Company Secretary of the Year award at a glittering awards celebration at the Park Lane Hilton in London last night, narrowly pipping Andrew Eames of St. Modwen Properties PLC, who was Highly Commended by the judges, to the award.

With increasing importance placed on boards embedding ESG considerations in their decision-making and operations, stakeholder capitalism has become something of a buzzword du jour. It is intrinsically linked to sustainability as it is grounded in the view that giving consideration to wider interests, perspectives and impacts leads to long-term value creation.

Too long? Too boring? Read by nobody? A thankless task? Too many reports attract descriptions like these. But when done well, the annual report is the vital calling card of a listed company. It’s in the doing it well that many companies get stuck. How should a report be put together and what should it say? What are the secrets to producing what’s often the first port of call for investors, and increasingly, other stakeholders?​

This extract is taken from Charity Checklists, 2nd edition.

Of general interest to all members.