Corporate Governance & Activism

Regulation and Investor Expectations: A corporate governance insight paper ahead of the 2020 AGM season

Download a PDF of this article

Ever since the financial crisis of 2008, the level of scrutiny on Boards of Directors and companies has grown, with the focus on corporate governance becoming particularly pronounced over the past five years. The 2018 iteration of the new UK Code included a number of substantive changes.

The growing capabilities of institutional investors and the broadening of the definition of governance from the Financial Reporting Council has dictated that 2019 was a year of significant change in a number of key areas.

FTI and CGlytics conducted an analysis of key areas of the new UK Code to determine the extent of that impact on UK and Irish companies. While the embedding of workforce engagement practices and disclosure has been subject to slower developments, guidance on pensions and Chair tenure have immediately influenced company and investor thinking – the result of which has been significant reductions in pensions for executive Directors in the FTSE and a sharp drop in average Chair tenure on both the FTSE and the ISEQ. However, despite the extent of change among Chairs, the level of gender diversity in those positions remains very low. The paper also includes wider potential risks for companies as the 2020 AGM season approaches.

Related Articles

Predictions for Cybersecurity in 2024: Communications and Reputational Perspectives

March 7, 2024—What will the cybersecurity space look like in 2024? And what do companies need to do to ensure they are prepared from a...

Cybersecurity in Latin America: Cyber Threats Evolve in a Landscape of Incipient Resilience

January 25, 2024—Organizations in Latin America should not wait for regulators to impose cybersecurity readiness requirements, as prepara...

A Year of Elections in Latin America: Navigating Political Cycles, Seizing Long-term Opportunity

January 23, 2024—Around 4.2 billion people will go to the polls in 2024, in what many are calling the biggest electoral year in history.[...

ESG+ Newsletter – 28 March 2024

March 28, 2024—This week’s newsletter covers a number of EU-related developments, with back and forth on the merits of defence fundin...

FTI Consulting News Bytes – 28 March 2024

March 28, 2024—FTI Consulting News Bytes This week, we start by looking at Microsoft’s ongoing effort to set itself up for success as...

How communications strategies can minimise data breach penalties

March 28, 2024—Calculating the true cost of a data breach incident can be complicated, particularly as reputational damage to key stake...