Of interest to all involved in the arrangement of meetings.

On 16 October, the UK government announced it had withdrawn the draft Companies (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, which were laid in Parliament on 19 July.

As mentioned in previous Technical Briefings, on 24 May, the Financial Reporting Council published its long anticipated consultation on the UK Corporate Governance Code, the intention of which is to focus on the legislative and governance reforms that the Government proposed in its May 2022 white paper “Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance”. These are designed, amongst other things, to “support the FRC’s transition into the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA).”

On 24 May, the Financial Reporting Council has published its long anticipated consultation on the UK Corporate Governance Code, the intention of which is to focus on the legislative and governance reforms that the Government proposed in its May 2022 white paper “Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance”.

Companies House published two stakeholder newsletters in December.

ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute has today welcomed the Government’s response to last years’ consultation on Corporate Transparency and Register Reform, in which the Government looked at options to enhance the role of Companies House and increase the transparency of UK corporate entities.

According to a poll by ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership, the majority of companies are prepared for the UK to leave Europe with no trade deal in place. Some 71% of respondents, the majority of which hail from finance, commerce and industry, said that they are very prepared for a no trade deal scenario. Just 9% are not at all prepared and an additional 20% were unsure of how prepared their organisation was at the time the poll was carried out.

Directors of regulated financial services providers face an ever-increasing array of obligations, including under the Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Act 2023 (the “IAF Act”). Given the potentially serious consequences for directors if they fail to comply with their duties (e.g. fines, disqualification, imprisonment), it is vital that directors understand and can document compliance with their legal and regulatory obligations.

Joshua Domb is the founder of Gen-R Law, a climate and ESG-focused law firm. He advises on governance and compliance, including the management of supply chain risk. In this comment blog, he explores why modern slavery and human rights abuses are critical risks that businesses must actively manage to ensure accountability, resilience, and long-term trust.