Chartered Accountants in Huddersfield

Issues relating diversity, pay disparity, human rights and employee engagement have been on the agenda of organisations from a Corporate Social Responsibility perspective for some time. However, with the introduction over the last few years of various reporting requirements such as gender pay and modern slavery reporting, there has been a shift towards these topics becoming key corporate governance issues that require board-level engagement.

The Gender Pay Gap Reporting Regulations came into force in April 2017 and so by now all organisations employing over 250 relevant employees have published (or should have) two annual reports. The reports consist of six metrics that quantify the difference in hourly pay and bonuses for men and women as well as the percentage of men and women in the highest and lowest earning quartiles of the workforce.

Whistleblowing is central to a company’s system of checks and balances, It can help businesses to mitigate their risks, improve their culture, and ultimately increase their performance, argues ICAEW chief executive Michael Izza.

Audit Committees are playing an increasingly critical corporate governance role in terms of their leadership on financial reporting, internal controls, risk management and the internal and external audit functions.

In recent years the length of board packs has increased significantly, especially in financial services, often surpassing a thousand pages. This information overload can hamper board members’ ability to think clearly, and thus their ability to make challenges where appropriate.

Company size doesn’t matter when it comes to successful corporate governance.

Regulatory reforms in 2015-2016 sought to open up the audit market. However, 97% of FTSE 350 audits are still carried out by the Big Four.

Training people into the world of work is a fulfilling experience. Satvir Bungar MBE tells of the challenges and rewards of lending his expertise to successful charitable enterprise Miss Macaroon.

“These songs are as valuable as gold.” Since it was launched in 2018, music investment company Hipgnosis has raised more than £1bn based on the intellectual property value and management of successful albums and songwriters’ back catalogues.

For businesses struggling with debt caused by the pandemic and lockdowns, and those that performed well, investment is crucial as they face pressure from shareholders and lenders. Amy Carr of Burges Salmon asks if 2021 will be the year of recapitalisations.