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.

Geoff White, co-creator of Edinburgh Fringe Festival sell-out show The Secret Life of Your Mobile Phone, is confirmed as the guest speaker at this year’s ICSA Guernsey Awards 2019. An investigative journalist, prolific writer and accomplished keynote speaker, Geoff will treat guests to a live, interactive phone hacking stage performance, which will show how the global technology industry is harvesting the data leaking from people’s handsets.

The steering group responsible for the Charity Governance Code, which promotes good governance practice for charities of all sizes in England and Wales, has today launched a consultation on plans to refresh the Code.

The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland has today published guidance on the role of lead charity trustees in England and Wales. The guidance reaffirms the importance of collective responsibility and highlights certain considerations charities should take into account when appointing a lead trustee. It also provides a specimen lead trustee role description to help charities with effective governance practice in this area.

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.

The Chartered Governance Institute has today welcomed the publication of the latest report from the Hampton-Alexander Review, but cautioned that while good progress is being made in terms of the number of women being appointed to the board, gender diversity in the executive pipeline is not yet good enough.

In light of Moneyval’s new emphasis on the effectiveness of a company’s systems and controls in its fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland is holding a seminar for the Isle of Man’s governance professionals that will consider ‘Why good governance is the board’s secret weapon’.

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.

The winners of The Chartered Governance Institute’s ICSA Guernsey Awards 2019, which recognise the achievements of Guernsey’s governance professionals and corporate service providers, were announced at a glittering awards dinner on Friday, 15 November 2019. The academic achievements of the Institute’s local members and students were also celebrated at the ICSA Guernsey Annual Awards Dinner 2019, which took place at the Duke of Richmond Hotel.