Shareholder activism is set to grow further June 12, 2012 INSTITUTIONAL investors are taking an increasingly active role in the firms in which they invest, according to new research that shows the changes in attitude that paved the way for the shareholder spring. Investors are more likely than ever to demand firms provide clarity on long-term strategy and redraft executive pay deals to incentivise good [...]
With chief executives toppling – the shareholder is king this spring May 15, 2012 IT’S been four years since the darkest days of the global financial crisis, but its reverberations continue. From all sorts of different stakeholders, numerous reports and reviews have been launched to look into the causes of the crisis and there have been plenty of recommendations for reform to prevent lightning from striking twice. Up until [...]
FRC launches consultation over changes to governance rules April 19, 2012 THE FINANCIAL Reporting Council (FRC) has this morning launched a widespread consultation on changes to the rules governing auditors and corporate stewardship, but has stopped short of proposing binding regulation. The regulator is planning to update the UK’s 20-year old corporate governance code, as well as revising aspects of the stewardship code – introduced in [...]
Finance regulator gains powers March 27, 2012 ■ The government is speeding up plans to streamline the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), giving the cumbersome auditing and corporate governance watchdog a bigger stick to rein in rule-breakers and help shape European Union laws. The FRC covers a range of supervisory activities from punishing auditors for rule breaches and checking up on accountants and [...]
Our corporate reporting is broken: but new research says that it can be fixed February 21, 2012 Pressure mounts for substantial changes to company reports, as a survey uncovers ambiguous attitudes SOME debates, it seems, go unresolved for years despite their importance. The future of corporate reporting is one such issue. It is now more than five years since the leaders of the biggest six accounting firms declared that the reporting system [...]
FRC to look into tougher comply or explain policy February 14, 2012 THE FINANCIAL Reporting Council (FRC) has issued research suggesting companies should provide greater detail when they choose to exempt themselves from corporate governance procedures. The regulator, which has responsibility for promoting the UK Corporate Governance Code, will now consider the proposals as part of an ongoing process to revise its guidelines. The research noted that [...]
PwC faces probe over auditing of BarCap December 16, 2011 Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is being investigated over its auditing of Barclays Capital Securities in relation to the investment bank’s compliance with rules governing the protection of client money. The Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board said on Friday its investigation would cover PwC’s conduct in preparing reports on Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of [...]
Critics of listing rules in the UK should bear in mind how the system actually works December 12, 2011 MUCH has been written in recent weeks about the question of safeguarding the high standards of London’s listed equity market in the face of a spate of listings of international commodity stocks. Many of these articles assume it is the role of the UK Listing Authority (UKLA) to insist on full compliance with the Corporate [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 24, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES ABN AMRO SEEKS NEW LIFE AS GLOBAL FORCE ABN Amro, the Dutch bank that has seen two of its three post-crisis owners collapse, is on a mission to re-emerge as a force in the sector and has promised to be a buyer of Eurozone financial assets that capital-stretched banks are preparing to sell. [...]
Reforms set to cut back chaotic audit regulator October 17, 2011 INCOHERENT growth of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has created an inefficient shambles, its chief executive told City A.M. yesterday. “Following scandals like Enron and Equitable Life, the FRC’s responsibilities grew from accounting standards originally to cover areas like corporate governance, professional oversight, and actuarial work,” Stephen Heddrill told City A.M. “However, the whole body [...]