Nearly half of S&P 100 companies included information in 2016 that showed how they responded to shareholder concerns and made changes to policies, according to a new report from US corporate adviser, Equilar. In 2016 42% of S&P 100 companies included disclosures in their proxy statements on how they modified their practices after engaging […]
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The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has argued that it needs more powers to take enforcement action against directors so that it can investigate and prosecute all directors for financial reporting breaches and associated issues of integrity, rather than only accountants and actuaries as at present in its response to the government’s green paper on corporate […]
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Tax transparency campaigners are looking to the European Parliament to continue to have a strong stance on public tax disclosure after EU member states agreed in December on a position that weakened European Commission proposals contained in the latest draft of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD). The 4th AMLD mandated that every EU member nation set […]
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The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), which represents global financial regulators, has published a statement on implementation of new accounting standards related to revenue, financial instruments, and leases. The three new International Financial Reporting (IFRS) Standards, issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, are expected to significantly affect the financial statements of many issuers globally, IOSCO […]
Read MoreNew research from the CFA-UK, the membership association of financial analysts, highlights aspects of financial reporting in annual reports which investors feel need to be improved. CFA-UK members were asked to rank the sections of annual reports by their usefulness. ‘Financial statements (income, balance sheet, cash flow)’ are thought to be very useful by 85% of respondents […]
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Company tax disclosure has improved in the UK according to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). In a new review of 33 companies’ reports and accounts the FRC found evidence of improvements in the transparency of disclosures included in strategic reports and effective tax rate reconciliations. There has been increased scrutiny of the tax arrangements of companies – […]
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Taiwan Corporate Governance Best-Practice Principles update In response to the latest G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, Taiwan has updated its Corporate Governance Best-Practice Principles for companies listed on its stock exchanges. Key changes include allowing investor engagment; creation of a company secretary position to handle corporate governance matters; electronic voting; eliminating cross-border voting barriers and shareholder meeting information to be […]
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The UK government will have the power to make, through regulations, the framework for gender pay gap reporting by companies with 250 or more employees when Section 78 of the Equality Act 2010 comes into force on 22nd August. Section 78 states that the regulations may require employers to publish information relating to the pay of employees […]
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Understanding the value of a company’s workforce is important for investors, and companies should improve their reporting on this and be able to link this reporting to their wider company strategy and business model, according to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA). The PLSA has produced a stewardship toolkit , Understanding the Worth of the Workforce, […]
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Institutional investors in the US are increasingly viewing corporate governance as more than just a compliance exercise but also about an ownership responsibility tied to investment value and risk mitigation, according to Ernst & Young’s (EY) analysis of the 2016 proxy season. Companies meanwhile are responding to investor demands for increased board accountability and transparency by enhancing communications […]
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