On 31 May, following a long consultation process, the Government published its responses to proposals intended to restore trust in audit and corporate governance. The Government’s responses significantly dilute many of the initial proposals for reform, a move which is likely to provide some welcome relief to the boards of smaller listed and AIM companies…

June 29, 2022 Read more >

The term ESG, first coined in 2005 stands for Environment, Social and Governance. In the years since, the noise around ESG has grown louder and we are now seeing companies implementing these metrics into their strategy and incentive plans. We found in our recent GECN ESG research ‘2022 and Beyond: Global Trends in the use…

March 16, 2022 Read more >

Last month, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published its non-binding guidance on ‘Mandatory climate-related financial disclosures by publicly quoted companies, large private companies and LLPs. The purpose of the document is to assist companies and LLPs to understand how to meet the new mandatory climate related financial disclosure requirements under the…

March 16, 2022 Read more >

Given that the UK was one of the first countries to really try to get to grips with the issues of Corporate Governance in the 1990’s (via the Cadbury Code), and that there has been continued development of best practice in this area through various bodies such as the FRC, IA and QCA since then,…

March 16, 2022 Read more >

What is TCFD: The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures industry-led group, created by the Financial Stability Board, which helps investors understand their financial exposure to climate risk. The aim of the TCFD is to increase awareness and improve the systems put in place to counter the physical disruptions that climate change could bring. TCFD…

March 16, 2022 Read more >

UK companies with a premium listing are bound by the UK Corporate Governance Code (UKCGC). According to the UKCGC the “remuneration for all non-executive directors should not include share options or other performance-related elements.” This explains why NEDs in the FTSE 100 do not participate in options or LTIPS and, probably, why only a small…

November 4, 2021 Read more >

The FCA’s consultation period has just closed for comments on their proposals around “Diversity and inclusion on company boards and executive committees”. Once the FCA has taken on board any comments, the intention is that these updated rules will apply to all main listed companies from January 2022 (so that reporting will start from 2023).…

November 4, 2021 Read more >

In July, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its policy statement PS21/09 in relation to the implementation of the new Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR) which becomes effective from 1 January 2022. PS21/09 is the second in the series of policy statements that summarises the feedback that the FCA has received in respect of their…

September 8, 2021 Read more >

On Thursday 24th June, Paul Norris, CEO of MM&K, participated in a webinar – “An international perspective on D&I from the GECN Group”.  The webinar asked (and answered) the question, “what should the Compensation Committee’s role be in creating a diverse and inclusive culture?” The GECN (Global Governance and Executive Compensation Group), of which MM&K…

July 15, 2021 Read more >

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is in the process of introducing the new Investment Fund Prudential Regime (IFPR), a single streamlined and simplified prudential regime for FCA authorised MiFID investment firms from 1 January 2022. The IFPR will be greatly aligned with the EU Investment Firms Regulations ((EU) 2019/2033) and the Investment Firms Directive ((EU)…

July 5, 2021 Read more >

The UK Corporate Governance Code (“the Code”) was updated in 2018, but as with all reforms of this nature, the effects could not be measured until a full cycle of disclosure had occurred.  In the last couple of weeks, the FRC have published a report (“the Report”) providing a review of how these changes have…

June 1, 2021 Read more >

We all recognise and are used to the raft of comment, regulatory guidance and best practice principles which surround ESG. It’s hard to deny the importance of the need to take care of the environment, be mindful of the effects of business activity on society and to operate as businesses within a sound governance framework.…

April 28, 2021 Read more >