Investors (and advisors) get their own code

The UK has offered a new template for global governance with the introduction of the first formal code of conduct for investors. Under the watchful eye of the Financial Reporting Council, it is hoped that the Stewardship code will, as Chairman Baroness Hogg said: ”be a catalyst for better engagement between shareholders and …… continue reading >>

Overseas owners prompt audit rethink

The increasing foreign ownership of UK companies is forcing the UK’s reporting watchdog the FRC rethink the role of audit and market oversight.

Stephen Haddrill, chief executive of  the Financial Reporting Council, speaking to senior finance figures this week said that  he would canvass opinion on the adequacy of the audit report, whether there …… continue reading >>

FRC: Game-keeper turns poacher

As the consultation on the UK’s Stewardship Code draws to a close, the UK’s reporting regulator, the FRC, has moved to strengthen its secretariat with the appointment of ABI governance veteran, Peter Montagnon.

Montagnon will join his former ABI boss Stephen Haddrill, on June 1st. FRC chairman Christopher Hogg said that Montagnon’s appointment would: “significantly …… continue reading >>

Manifest welcomes FRC's role in Stewardship Code

Manifest has welcomed the Financial Reporting Council’s role as the new guardian of an institutional investor Stewardship Code but has proposed that the Code itself should be the subject of its own consultation rather than a simple grandfathering of the existing ISC principles.

Proposals for a parallel code for investors to sit …… continue reading >>

Budget: Mandatory vote disclosure? Who will take hold of the wheel?

Coming so late in the life of the current parliamentary term, the City may be forgiven for already turning attention from yesterday’s budget statement to post-election budgetary announcements for substantive financial and fiscal policy developments. However, hidden in the text of yesterday’s Budget Report is a potentially highly significant statement, which could make …… continue reading >>

iSOFT case continues

The iSoft conspiracy case has moved on another step with the announcement by the Financial Reporting Council that its Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board has called a disciplinary hearing to investigate a formal complaint against a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in relation to the issues …… continue reading >>

FRC consults on Stewardship Code

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the UK’s corporate governance regulator, wants to hear from institutional investors in the UK and overseas about its proposals for a new “Stewardship Code” aimed at creating best practice principles for investors when engaging with the UK listed companies.

The Stewardship Code is based on a set of …… continue reading >>

Big 4 Auditors under pressure: cross-selling persists

Shareholders don’t like it, nor do the regulators. It’s expressively forbidden to be included in appraisals. Unfortunately, evidence uncovered by the Financial Reporting Council’s Audit Inspection Unit (AIU) shows that the controversial practice of selling non-audit services to audit clients is alive and well, threatening the independence of  audits.

At Deloitte audit directors …… continue reading >>

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