Governance 2021: The next chapter - Recap

Conference opens, Keynote Address and Audit reform: shaping companies' future

March saw publication of a Government white paper, Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance, the latest step in its response to the findings of the Brydon and Kingman reports on the audit market in the UK. In this session, we look at what’s proposed for directors, audit firms and shareholders alike, we consider the expanded role of the new regulator, the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA), and reflect upon the challenges ahead.

• Sir Jonathan Thompson, CEO, Financial Reporting Council
• Simon Gardiner, General Counsel and Company Secretary, United Utilities Group
• Peter Swabey, Research & Policy Director, The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland

Top tips for the coming reporting season

Covid-19 has left nothing untouched, and reporting is no exception. What’s changing in the regulatory landscape? What’s the latest from global efforts to create a single set of ESG standards? What are investors and other stakeholders looking for? And how do we factor all this into next year’s reporting? Our professionals share their experiences of reporting through covid and what they’ll be taking into next year’s reporting and beyond.

• Claire Bodanis, Founder & Director, Falcon Windsor
• Sally Fairbairn, Group Company Secretary and Director Investor Relations, SSE Plc Relations
• Lorraine Clover, Group Company Secretary, Reach Plc

ESG and the governance of climate change

This session is a conversation with Alexander Stafford, Conservative MP and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Environmental and Social Governance. He is a champion for growing the understanding, assessment and implementation of ESG. Alex is also a member of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee and prior to becoming an MP worked for the World Wildlife Fund and Shell.

• David Mortimer, External Affairs, The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland
• Alexander Stafford MP, chair of the UK's All Party Parliamentary Group on Environmental, Social and Governance

The twelve elements of independent judgement

Exercising independent judgment is a skill, and one that is rarely straightforward. It’s a truism that in many organisations governance professionals and board members are the linchpin of independent judgment, drawing upon a range of knowledge, experience and personal qualities to make effective decisions. But what does good judgement even look like, and how can you improve your own?

• Professor Sir Andrew Likierman, Professor of Management Practice, London Business School

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Cybersecurity in the virtual boardroom

* This session was not recorded

In this session, we explore the board’s oversight of data privacy, focusing particularly on strategy and reputational risks. Issues around privacy and effective cybersecurity should be managed together, and in this session our speakers look at how to manage privacy through new operational and organisational approaches.

Hannah H, Support to Boards Team, Economy & Society Engagement, NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre)

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Driving globalisation centrally with strategic entity management and compliance practices

Where once the responsibilities of entity governance would be left to a local controller, the tide is now turning, as increasingly organisations are managing their obligations centrally. By centralising corporate information, organisations not only can ensure accuracy of compliance and cross-team collaboration, they can also enable governance teams to spot and influence company-wide decisions on such things as where to dissolve or create entities.

• Andrew Cosgrove, Product Marketing Manager Diligent Corporation
• Fergus Lovatt, Client Executive – Expansion, Diligent Corporation

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A stake in success - re-imagining employee share ownership

A recent report from the Social Market Foundation sets out the case for an expansion of employee share ownership in the UK, and for share ownership to form a key part of a “fair and strong economic recovery” narrative as we emerge from crisis. Indeed, says the report, the case for wider rates of employee share ownership is compelling. We look at the report findings and discuss what they mean.

• David Mortimer, External Affairs, The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland
• Scott Corfe, Research Director, Social Market Foundation

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Keynote: Mapping your journey to success - How to lead in disruptive and turbulent times

• Jane Gunn, Mediator, speaker and author

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The emerging boardroom ethics

As the pandemic has continued, organisations of all stripes have found themselves having to adapt a new environment, one in which physical premises are shut, people work remotely, and the temptation for misbehaviour is great. So, what does it mean to be an ethical organisation in the post-pandemic world? Are new attitudes towards ethical matters emerging – and if so, what do those look like?

Dr Ian Peters MBE, Director, Institute of Business Ethics

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Thought leadership: How to transform governance for your organisation

Significant shifts in legislation, business environment and organisational wide transformation, mean that governance functions are having to adapt and change in order to respond to the new demands made of their stakeholders. In this session, our speakers discuss how to successfully transform a company’s governance infrastructure to enable a business to respond to the challenges faced by strategic, legislative and cultural change.

• Fabia Welch-Richard, EGC senior manager, PwC
• Helen Baker, Head of Secretariat, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

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D&O insurance in the wake of COVID-19

In a post pandemic landscape, the risks associated with directors and officers (D&O) liability have been thrown into sharp relief and it has become increasingly hard for organisations to secure adequate cover. Questions about how top teams are fulfilling their fiduciary and other duties, about the accuracy of disclosures in such a fluid environment, and reputational risks from the pandemic itself have all raised the stakes. We look at the challenges organisations are facing on this front.

• Julia Crane, Deputy Company Secretary, Hammerson PLC
• James Johnston, Head of Management Liability, Aviva

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Fighting fit, Next gen boardroom & Close

Fighting fit: what next for the UK corporate governance code?

In May 2021, the Financial Reporting Council released its latest revision to the UK Corporate Governance Code. In this session, we hear from the regulator who will address the Code’s principle of forging strong relationships with key stakeholders. They focus on the issue of workforce engagement, a relatively rare but increasingly used practice in the UK.

• David Styles, Director, Corporate Governance and Stewardship, Financial Reporting Council

The next generation boardroom

Building diversity into succession planning in the boardroom is increasingly seen as being “mission critical”. And yet, the same pitfalls, the same biases are seen again and again. How can boards really make a difference and bring more women, LGBT and BAME people into top roles? We hear the views of some who have made it to the top, the challenges they faced – and the impact they have made.

• Dottie Schindlinger, Executive Director, Diligent Institute
• Denise Wilson, Chief Executive, Hampton-Alexander Review
• Jabbar Sardar, Global HR director, BBC Studios
• Connie Smith, Managing Director - Tricor Caribbean and Chair, Barbados Branch, The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland

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Keynote, New values and culture

Keynote: Boosting socio-economic diversity at senior levels

I. Stephanie Boyce, President, The Law Society

New values and culture, fit for the next chapter!

Handled well, corporate purpose is one of the pillars of good governance, and many companies are responding to the 10 principles outlined in the UN global compact and transitioning to a new set of values. At the same time, the pandemic has brought many challenges which have driven companies to reassess their culture. In this session, we hear from two companies: one which set out to transform its corporate values, the another which reshaped its culture.

• Matt Peacock, Partner, Blurred
• Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance, London Business School
• William Chalmers, Interim CEO, Lloyds Banking Group plc
• Alison Horrocks, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Company Secretary, Inmarsat

The effects of shareholder activism

Stakeholder activism is putting increasing pressure on organisations to phase out their support of fossil fuels. Last year’s shareholder action against a major high street bank was the first of its kind, but it won't be the last. As Cop 26 approaches, corporate action to tackle climate change is coming under scrutiny. We discuss where the conversations between businesses, their investors and activists are leading to.

• Dr Roger Barker, Director of Policy and Corporate Governance, The Institute of Directors
• Sir Ian Cheshire, Non-Executive Chairman, Spire Healthcare
• Catherine Howarth, CEO, ShareAction

Companies House transformation

Companies House is about to implement some of the most important changes since the register was created in 1844. More than just an exercise in tidying up the accuracy of their data, the aim is to act against the ‘abuse of personal information on the register, [and] the misuse of UK registered entities as vehicles for economic and other crime’. So what will the changes be, and how will they affect your organisation?

• Louise Smyth, CEO, Companies House
• Alexandra Walter, Head of Policy, Companies House

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Mental health: working in a hybrid world

In this session we explore the link between effective governance and the need for organisations to support employees in a hybrid or remote working environment. Is the board leading on mental health issues? Is it purely an HR matter or is it a consultant responsibility? How, as an organisation, do you provide stability and support to your employees and drive that from the very top?

• Rob Baker, Founder & Chief Positive Deviant, Tailored Thinking
• Shaun Davis, Global Director of Compliance and Sustainability, Royal Mail
• Melissa Conway, Company Secretary, Metro Bank

How does exclusion happen in your boardroom?

The Institute and the Centre for Synchronous Leadership have collaborated on a ground-breaking report on mindful exclusion, following a study of over 300 governance professionals, directors and executive committee members. What issues don’t make it onto the board agenda? What information is not shared amongst colleagues? Which groups of people are not selected to join? And are these decisions guided by your organisations’ values, vision and strategic objectives or by mindless automated responses?

• Justine Lutterodt, Director, Centre for Synchronous Leadership
• Caroline Mair, Deputy CEO, Veritas Investment Partners
• Marcus Ryder, Head of External Consultancies at Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity

Committee structure, keynote and closing

Is your committees structure fit for the future?

As priorities change, boards are having to cope with greater scope and complexity than they were a decade ago. Much of that is due to heightened regulatory requirements, shifting investor expectations and transformative global changes. Are boards’ committee structures appropriate to meeting those expectations? Do boards familiar themselves with how their peers are addressing their oversight responsibilities? And how can board evaluations help address the issue?

• James Beasley, Head of EMEA Board Engagement, Nasdaq Governance Solutions
• Susan Hooper, Non-Executive Director and ESG Lead, Moonpig, Uber, Affinity Water and Director, Chapter Zero
• Tania Tchedaeva, Director, Corporate Governance and Company Secretary, Polymetal International Plc

Keynote: What the future holds

Dr Ayesha Khanna, Co-Founder and CEO, ADDO AI

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Closing address

Victoria Penrice, President, The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland

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