UK government urges finance firms to make net-zero pledge

As the COVID19 lock-down continues, the UK’s Department for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy has announced its intention to publish new regulations enabling companies to hold alternative AGMs for 2020.

Speaking on Saturday, 28 March 2020, Secretary of State Alok …

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AGM Season

Virtual AGMs: Time to prepare

Companies, regulators and markets are increasingly realising that the AGM season will be severely disrupted by the COVID19 pandemic.

As social distancing becomes the norm, traditional annual meetings where shareholders gather to hear CEO presentations …

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UK companies can delay submitting their accounts to Companies House without penalty for up to three months, the government has announced.

The measure, the latest issued in the response to the Covid19 coronavirus outbreak, is aimed at reducing pressure on …

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As the UK entered COVID19 lockdown last week, Minerva wrote to regulators asking for their intervention to create an orderly market in AGMs. Today a letter has been sent to quoted companies asking them to clarify their AGM proposals, alerting

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COVID-19 Hits Dividends

An increasing number of UK-listed companies are cutting or suspending dividend payments in order to preserve cash and protect their balance sheets in response to the economic impact of coronavirus. The suspension of dividends will be a real worry for

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Data, Sustainability risks internal audit

The Institute of Internal Auditors said the findings from its annual survey of 630 internal audit executives painted a “troubling picture”.

Many internal audit functions are failing to allocate a portion of their audit plans to certain key risks, in …

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FRC reports highlight benefits of Covid disclosures

In February, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) announced what it has called a “major review” of how companies and auditors assess and report on the impact of climate change, with the findings due to be published in the Autumn, ahead

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The UK Government has now implemented social distancing measures across the UK as the coronavirus outbreak continues to gather pace.

Mass gatherings are being postponed or cancelled in response, but UK companies with scheduled annual general meetings (AGM) are having …

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GPIF scales up stewardship expectations

Japan’s GPIF scales up stewardship expectations

Japan’s biggest public pension fund has revised its stewardship and proxy voting principles amid a surge in shareholder activism in the country.

The Government Pension Investment Fund, one the world’s largest pools of …

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SEC creates new senior climate change role

SEC fallout grows as row rages over amendments

A prominent SEC Commissioner has admitted that the US regulator needs to rethink parts of its proxy voting rule amendments.

Speaking at the Council of Institutional Investors’ 2020 conference this week, Commissioner …

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