POLICY 60-SECOND BRIEFING New reporting IoD IN THE NEWS
l The IoD has continued to highlight the private sector’s views on Brexit. With Policy Voice surveys revealing members’ concerns about a no-deal outcome, Allie Renison, head of Europe and trade policy, said firms were “facing an impossible situation”. Her comments were reported by the Daily Mail, Guardian and i. Policy director Edwin Morgan also appeared on BBC News (pictured) to discuss the issue.
l Autumn saw the political world enter party conference season, with a number of policy announcements coming from all sides. Responding to Labour’s proposal for a 32-hour working week, the IoD cautioned that this would
“put the cart before the horse”, suggesting that the focus should instead be on raising productivity – a point covered by the Daily Telegraph, FT and others. Tej Parikh, IoD chief economist, appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and Radio 5 Live’s Wake Up to Money to discuss that idea as well as Conservative plans to increase the living wage.
l The appointment of Jonathan Geldart as the IoD’s director general was also widely reported. The FT ran the headline “Directors’ lobby names China expert to top post”, while The Times highlighted Geldart’s expeditions to the North Pole and the Himalayas.
requirements As 2020 begins, the UK’s larger private companies will have to start complying with a new set of reporting requirements. This follows a flurry of regulatory changes concerning corporate governance in the previous year in response to a series of high-profile business failures. The biggest private firms – those with more than 2,000 employees and/or a turnover exceeding £200 million and a balance sheet totalling more than £2 billion – will have to issue a statement about their governance arrangements and how these complied with a recognised code of conduct. Any business with more than 250 employees must also show how it has engaged with them. Many firms will be publishing statements on stakeholder interests too, reporting on their compliance with section 172 of the Companies Act 2006. Section 172 is particlarly notable for the range of stakeholders it deems to have interests that feature in the “success of the company”. They include shareholders, employees, suppliers and communities affected by its operations. It will be interesting see how firms choose to respond. Will we see tick-box disclosures with boilerplate wording or a change in behaviour? Only time will tell.
The economy 24% 40% 87% 50%
of respondents are aware of the “settled status” scheme.
are optimistic about the UK economy.
have discussed it with their employees.
are optimistic about their firms’ prospects.
53% 52% 40%
UK economic conditions.
Uncertain trading status with the EU.
Skills shortages.
director.co.uk 57 Members’ key concerns:
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