Within a span of about 14 days, two separate reports focused on corporate governance reforms have been published in the United Kingdom, and both stand to have considerable impact on audit committee members and other directors in their risk oversight roles. The 'Walker report' focuses on the banking industry, while the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) report deals with all U.K. listed companies.
With a sharp focus on enhancing the effectiveness of risk management at the board level, the Walker report provides a number of recommendations for the banking industry that carry implications for audit committees, including:
* the establishment of board risk committees that are separate from audit committees
* granting risk committees the power to scrutinize — and, if necessary — block big transactions
* the power for board committees to scrutinize firm-wide pay
* the demand that non-executive directors spend more time on the job
See full Press Release.
Posts
