Written by Elise Perraud, NEDonBoard COO
In March 2021, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched a 16-week consultation on a set of proposals “Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance”, which closed in July. NEDonBoard welcomed this initiative and the opportunity to implement meaningful changes. We took part in the consultation and responded to selected questions, notably those relevant to company directors and non-executive directors:
- Section 2: Directors’ accountability for internal controls, dividends, and capital maintenance
- Section 5: Company Directors
NEDonBoard consulted with a small group of interested members and board professionals on 6th April and 1st June 2021. Participants expressed a level of disappointment with some of the proposals and concerns around the very high number of questions, considering the three independent reviews commissioned by the government (Sir John Kingman’s Independent Review of the FRC, the CMA’s Statutory Audit Services Market Study and Sir Donald Brydon’s Independent Review of the Quality and Effectiveness of Audit) and costs/benefits of the reform for companies within scope.
The NEDonBoard consultation responses make clear that while we support the proposals of the consultation, some should go further, notably with regards to the definition of Public Interest Entities (already proposed to encompass AIM-listed and large private companies).
If you would like to take part in future round-table discussions with other NEDonBoard members, please email [email protected] or visit our agenda of events at this link. Round-tables are by invitation only, open to subject matter experts and experienced non-executive directors.
