Chapter 4 - Main Aspects Of Corporate Governance Flashcards
Corporate governance is the process by which company objectives are established, achieved and monitored. Corporate governance is also concerned with…
Relationships and responsibilities of the board, management, shareholders and other relevant stakeholders within a legal and regulatory framework.
The two most important elements of corporate governance are?
Transparency and accountability
Codes of corporate governance differ across the world, but commonly adopted principles include the following:
- companies should respect shareholders rights and help shareholders to exercise them.
- companies should recognise they have obligations to other stakeholders
- the board needs the skills and understanding to review and challenge management performance
- companies should develop a code of conduct for their directors and managers that promotes ethical and responsible decision making.
- companies should make public the roles and responsibilities of the board and management to provide shareholders with a level of accountability
- companies should have procedures to independently verify their financial reporting
The corporate governance framework in the UK operates at a number of levels through legislation particularly the company’s act and…
- through regulation and in particular for the London stock exchange listed companies through the listing rules which are the responsibility of the FCA
- through the UK corporate governance code which is the responsibility of the financial reporting council
For companies not listed on the London stock exchange, companies can still adopt equivalent approaches to those that are listed as the UK corporate governance code is considered…
To represent the best practice standards for supervision and management up by directors and other stakeholders
The FRC issued and updated UK corporate governance code in ???? That…
- This updated version of the code enhances the quality of the information that investors receive about the long term health and strategy of listed companies.
The five areas of the UK corporate governance code are…
- leadership
- effectiveness
- accountability
- remuneration
- relations with shareholders
What is the leadership section under the UK corporate governance code concerned with?
- every company should be headed by an effective board
- clear division of responsibilities at the head of the company between running the board, and executive responsibility of the running the business. No one individual should have too much power.
- chairman is responsible for leading the board and ensuring its effectiveness on all aspects of its role
What is the effectiveness section under the UK corporate governance code concerned with?
- the board and its committees should have the appropriate balance of skills and experience to do duties effectively
- should be a formal rigorous and transparent procedure for appoint of new directors to the board
- the board should be supplied in a timely manner with information in a form and of a quality appropriate to enable it to discharge its duties
What is the accountability section of the UK corporate governance code concerned with?
- the board should present a balanced and understandable assessment of the company’s position and prospects
- the board is responsible for determining the nature and extent of the significant risks it is willing to take in achieving its strategic objectives, the board should maintain sound risk management and internal control systems.
What is the remuneration section under the UK corporate governance code concerned with?
- levels of remuneration should be sufficient to attract, retain And motivate directors of the right quality required to run the business, without paying too much. Should be a proportion structured as to link towards rewards for corporate and Individual performance.
- emphasis should be placed on the long term success of the company
- arrangements should be made to recover or withhold variable pay when appropriate to do so.
What is the relations with shareholder section under the UK corporate governance code concerned with?
- should be a dialogue with shareholders based on mutual understanding of objectives.
- board should use the annual general meeting to communicate with investors and encourage their participation
- companies should explain how they are to engage with shareholders when a significant percentage of them has voted against a resolution.
What are the other 2 areas of the UK corporate governance code?
- going concern, risk management and internal control
- comply or explain
Under the UK corporate governance code, with regards to risk management and internal control, companies should?
- identify any material uncertainties in their ability to trade as a going concern
- asses their principal risks and explain how they are being managed
- state whether they are able to continue in operation and meet their liabilities
- monitor their risk management and internal control systems at least annually
With regards to the comply or explains section of the UK corporate governance code, what does this mean?
Compliance with the code is not a legal requirement, but it is part of the London stock exchange listing rules. Companies are required to state in their annual report whether they are in compliance with the code, or if not fully compliant to derail, explain where they are not complaint and the reason for this.
The turnbull guidance sets out…
Best practice for internal control for UK listed companies, and assists them in applying the section of the UK corporate governance code that deals with internal control.
In September 2014, the FRC published a revised guidance of the turnbull guidance called…
Guidance on risk management, internal control and related financial and business reporting (the risk guidance)
Who has published a version of the UK corporate governance code for mutual insurers?
Association of financial Mutuals
The AFM annotated corporate governance code for mutual insurers includes…(also give example)
Guidance on matters such as the role of shareholders and the appointment of directors that have specific experience in the interests of members. An example of this is the metropolitan police friendly society, where certain non executive directors or retried police officers serve.
In 2003 the FRC published guidance on audit committees which was called the smith report, this guidance was last updated in September 2012 and is now referred to us the…
FRC guidance on audit committees
What is the purpose of the FRC guidance on audit committees?
Assist company boards when implementing the sections of the UK corporate governance code. Dealing with the audit committees and to assist directors serving on audit committees in carrying out their role.
The FRC guidance on audit committees states that the board should establish an audit committee of at least…
Three, or in the case of smaller companies, two members.
The main roles and responsibilities of the audit committee include:
- Monitoring the integrity of the company’s financial statements
- reviewing the company’s internal financial controls
- making recommendations to the board, for it to be put to shareholders for their approval in the general meeting, in relation to the appointment of the external auditor And to improve the remuneration and terms of engagement of the external auditor
- reviewing and mo irony the external auditors independence and objectivity and the effectiveness of the audit process
- developing and implementing policy on the engagement of the stern all auditor to supply non audit services, taking into account relevant ethical guidance regarding the provision of non audit services by the external audit firm.
- to report to the board, identifying any matters where it considers that action or improvement is needed, and making recommendations as the steps to be taken.
In March 2011 the FRC published the guidance on…
Board effectiveness
The FRC’s guidance on board effectiveness relates primarily to leadership and effectiveness of the board. The institute of chartered secretaries and administrators developed guidance on the FRC’s behalf and it deals with the following topics:
- role of the board and directors
- board support and role of the company secretary
- descion making
- board composition and succession planning
- evaluating the performance of the board and directors
- audit, risk and remuneration
- relations with shareholders
Corporate governance codes have been adopted in many other countries in a similar way to the UK. On Australia, the ASX corporate governance council published the corporate governance principles and recommendations. Codes also exist in European counties, for example Germany has the…
Deutscher corporate governance codex
In the USA a different approach is taken, companies with a listing on the stock exchange in the USA are required to comply with the requirements of the…
Sarbanes-oxley act 2002
Explain why the sarbanes-oxley act came about
The USA, due to failings in corporate govnerance made the legislation. The purpose of which is to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures.
What notable scandal in the USA helped bring about legislation like the sarbanes-Oxley act?
Enrol scandal
The need for auditor independence, corporate responsibility, and enhanced financial disclosure feature heavily in which act…
Sarbanes-Oxley act 2002
The two key provisions of the sarbanes-Oxley act are….
302 and 404
What does section 302 of the sarbanes-oxley act do?
Mandates a set of internal procedures designed to ensure accurate financial disclosure. The signing officers must certify that they are responsible for establishing and maintaining internal controls. And have designed such internal controls to ensure that materiel information relating to the company and its consolidated subsidiaries is made known to such officers by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which the periodic reports are being prepared.
What is part 404 of the sarbanes-oxley act?
Requires management and external auditor to report on the adequacy of the company’s internal control over financial reporting. This is the most costly aspect of the legislation for company’s to implement, as documenting and testing important financial manual and automated controls requires a large amount of resources.
SOX type laws have been adopted…
In other places of the world.
Listed companies have to abide by which rules…
The listing rules
The listing rules dictate…
Such matters as the contents of the prospectus for a company seeking a listing for the first time. This is called an initial public offering, and on going obligations such as the disclosure of price sensitive information, and communications on new share offers, rights issues, and potential or actual takeover bids for the company.
The listing rules require quoted companies to produce half…
Yearly financial reports as well as annual reports. The rules implement the EU transparency directive but also set slightly more stringent requirements.
The main legislation covering limited companies is…
The companies act 2006
The companies act 2006 includes regulations affecting:
- company formation
- statutory reporting
- company meetings
- responsibility of a company’s directors and officers
Companies house keeps the public records of companies registered in Great Britain. It lists its three statutory functions as to:
- Incorporate and dissolve limited companies
- examine and store company information delivered under the companies act and related legislation and
- make this information available to the public
All company directors have a personal responsibility for making Information about the capital structure, management and activities of their companies available both to the members of the company and to the public by…
Filing the documents at companies house.
Every registered company has the legal obligation to provide companies house with…
An up to date annual return, and in most cases, annual accounts including a directors statement
Until a company is registered with companies house, it has…
No legal existence, so cannot enter into contracts or undertake any business.
The majority of companies are private companies and may be formed by one or more individuals subscribing to the…
Memorandum of association and complying with the registration requirements of the act
If a company is to issue shares to the public it must register as a
Public company and comply with certain additional rules such as having allotted…
Share capital of at least £50,000
The registration documents for companies house set out…
- company’s name
- whether the company is a private or public company
- whether the liability of the members of the company is to be limited and if so whether it is to be limited by shares or guarantee
- the situation of the company’s registered office, I.e whether it is in England and Wales, Wales Scotland or norther Ireland.
- address of the registered office, which must be the same as the situation of the registered office
- the statement of proposes officers and
- the proposes articles of association
If the company is to be limited by shares the document must also include a statement of capital and the initial share holdings
The articles of association are an important part of the company’s constitution. Model articles are set out for private and public companies, and companies may chose to adopt these.
The articles of association contain the main provisions governing the relationship between…
Shareholders and the company, as well as moderating the balance of power between the shareholders themselves.
The articles of association compromise the regulations for the running of the company’s internal affairs and they specify how many members must be present if the proceedings at meetings are to be …
Regarded as valid
The meetings in regards to articles of association, how many members must be present for it to be valid is called a ….
Quorum. It is Usually necessary to have a quorum before a meeting is valid.
As part of statutory reporting requirements, an annual return is required. What does this contain?
A range of information including the company’s registered office address. The principal business activities. Details of the the directors, company secretary, shareholders and the company’s share capital.
Every company must deliver an annual return to companies house at least…
Once every 12 months. The company has 28 days from the date which the return is made to do this. The return is a summary of the company’s details at a particular date (the made up date). The latest date to which it may be made up is the anniversary of the previous return or in the case of a new company, the anniversary of its incorporation.
The companies act requires that every company must keep accounting records which are sufficient to show and explain the company’s transactions and as such to:
- disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company at that time and
- enable the directors to ensure that any accounts required to be prepared comply with the requirements of the act
Annual accounts are useful for investors and other stakeholders who want to know…
The condition of the company in which they have invested their capital and to assess the performance of its directors.
Annual accounts may also help creditors obtain reassurance that their debts will be paid, or alert them to the possibility that they will not be
Paid.
By law, a company’s annual accounts must give a….
True and fair view of its economic state
To aid the process of companies providing their annual accounts showing a true and fair view, companies are required to comply with accounting standards, for instance….
Companies listed on the London stock exchange follow International financial reporting standards
These IFRS standards are aimed at establishing…
A uniform approach to methods of accounting, so that a consistently true and fair view of every company’s financial state can be presented.
For most companies, the annual accounts will include…
- income statement
- a balance sheet signed by a director
- a directors report signed by a director or the company secretary
The entire set of required documents is sometimes grouped together and called the annual report and financial statements.
The directors report is required by the companies act to include a business review, unless the company is subject to the small companies regime. This review should be a fair review of…
The company’s business and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties facing the company.
The directors report review is required to be a balanced and comprehensive analysis of the performance of the company, using key financial reporting indicators,moon sirens with the size and…
Complexity of the company
The the case of a quoted company, a review by the director under the directors report must include:
- main trends and factors likely to affect the future development, performance and position of the company’s businesses.
- information about;
. Environmental matters
. Employees
. Social and community issues, including information about any policies of the company in relation to those matters and the effectiveness of those policies
. Information about persons with whom the company has contractual or other arrangements which are essential to the business of the company
The directors of a quoted company must prepare a ????? ?????? Which must be approved by the board of directors and signed by a director or the secretary of the company.
Directors remuneration report
A statement of the company’s policy on directors remuneration should be provided and this must include a detailed summary of any….
Performance conditions for share options and long term incentive schemes and why such performance conditions were chosen.
In regards to directors remuneration report, details must be given of…
Directors service contracts, salaries, fees, bonuses, share options, long term incentive scheme, pensions, retirement benefits, compensation for past directors and sums paid to third parties for directors services.
The directors remuneration report will be approved at…
Annual general meeting
Which body has been influencing directors remuneration since the 1970s and published the first guidelines on the subject?
Association of British insurers
In regards to directors remuneration reports, the ABI guidelines were published in response to the issue of the …
Large and medium sized companies and groups (accounts and reports) (amendment) regulations 2013.
In regards to the large and medium sized companies and grounds (accounts and reports) (amendment) regulations 2013 - the significant changes in the regulations relate to the requirement for….
Directors to have a significant shareholding in the company. Remuneration should be adjusted to reflect performance and allow for the claw back of monies paid and that
Reform and should include non financial issues such as environmental social and governance objectives.
Corporate governance is commonly referred to as?
A system by which organisations are directed and controlled.
A chairmans statement is sometimes included in?
The annual report
What does the chairmans statement show?
Usually a statement about the company’s activities attributed to the company’s chairman
The chairmans statement is not required by…
The company’s act
External auditors are not required to judge whether the content of either the directors or chairmans statements provide a true and fair fair, however they would have to report to shareholders if…
Any inconsistency was found between the two statements and the rest of the report
All companies have to keep accounting records and all limited companies must send their accounts to…
Companies house
How long do both private companies and public companies each have to file their accounts with companies house?
Private companies have within nine months of the year end and public companies must file within six months.
Late delivery of accounts to companies house is likely to result in…
Penalties
Failure to deliver accounts on time to companies house is a ?????? And as a result the ????? And ??????? May be ????????
Criminal offence, which means company directors and the company secretary may be prosecuted
The companies act 2006 requires all public companies have…
A company secretary
A private company does not need to have a company…
Secretary
What does the companies act 2006 say about the requirements for a company secretary?
Must take all reasonable steps to secure that the secretary… Of the company is a person who appears to them to have the requisite knowledge and experience to discharge the functions of the secretary of the company.
The companies act 2006 sets out a list of acceptable qualifications for the post of company secretary, including a chartered secretary and a number of accountancy professional and legal qualifications. However these qualifications are not exclusive and the sectarian may be a person who…
By virtue of his holding or having held any other position or his being a member of any other body, appears to the directors to be capable of discharging the functions of secretary of the company.
The company secretary should maintain the statutory registers, these are…
- register of members (the shareholders)
- register of directors and secretaries
- register of director interests
- register of charges
- register of interests in shares (for public companies)
The company secretary should give notice of the annual general meeting. This includes providing company members and the company’s auditors with ?? Days of written notice of an annual general meeting and ?? Days if notice of a meeting other than an annual general meeting or of a meeting to pass a special resolution.
21 days for annual general meeting and 14 days for meeting other than annual general meeting
A private company no longer needs to have a annual general meeting unless…
The shareholders require one to be held
In regards to special and extraordinary resolutions, the company secretary must…
Ensure that companies house is sent copies of every extraordinary or special resolution or agreement of the company’s directors
Companies house requires changes in company information to be notified to it, using its own special forms and within a specified period. These changes in information include the particulars (names and addresses) of…
Directors and company secretaries
The company secretary should supply every member of the company with a copy of the annual accounts ?? Days before a meeting at which the accounts are to be laid
21
The company secretary should keep minutes of ?????? Meetings and ???????? Meetings.
Directors meetings and general meetings
The company secretary should supply copies of the company accounts and other documents to the appropriate people and ensure that members of the company and members of the public can inspect the company’s records. For example, where a poll is taken at a general meeting of a quoted company, the company must ensure that the results of the poll are…
Made available on the website.
Good corporate governance and and effective risk management is not an activity that is assigned to a particular team, such as the risk management team , but is something that should be adopted …
By all operational managers and staff within the organisation.
The first line of defence is?
Once a risk strategy is set, with an associated control environment, it is primarily the responsibility of front line managers to ensure that risks are identified and controlled in keeping with the strategy and control environment.
To support the work of operational management, firms will have a team of risk management specialists who coordinate the risk activities and act as advisors and monitors to the senior management and board. This team may be made up of …. And forms the …..
Risk analysts, health and safety specialists, regulatory and compliance advisors. They form the second line of defence.
Who will be the risk owner for risks associated with fraudulent claims?
The head of Claims
Who will be the risk owner for service interruptions
The head of IT
Who will be the risk owner and have ultimate responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of account records?
Finance director