Rapporter og tendenser

Det engelske regnskabsråd, FRC, udgiver guide, som skal hjælpe mindre børsnoterede selskaber med at sikre høj kvalitet i regnskabsrapporteringen. FRC skriver , at “this guide offers practical suggestions for audit committees and boards of smaller listed and AIM quoted companies4 seeking to deliver high quality financial and non-financial reporting to the users of the annual report and accounts. It builds on key themes that emerged from the FRC’s 2015 discussion paper, which identified four areas where sharper focus could help companies improve the quality of their annual report and accounts. These areas are: • adequate time and resources available to produce good quality annual reports; • early engagement on the annual report by those charged with governance;
• deeper understanding of relevant reporting standards and requirements; and • appropriate rigour by the auditor in the audit of financial statements and review of annual reports. This guide outlines practical tips and questions audit committees can consider asking as a way to challenge management on current financial reporting practices.”

Amerikansk finanstilsyn, SEC, godkender ny børsmarkedsplads særligt for investorer og selskaber med langsigtet fokus, The Long Term Stock Exchange.
Ejerne bag præsenterer sig sådan: ”Companies that operate with a long-term mindset tend to outperform their peers over time. But going public can pressure even the most visionary founder into a short-term mindset. We are building software tools and a coalition of investors for 21st-century companies.” Videre forklares det, at ”we expect that companies listed on LTSE will, among other things, develop indicators of progress toward long-term success and link executive pay to long-term performance. And that they will disclose investments in long term-focused research and development, and explain their approaches to community, diversity, and the environment. Unlike most U.S. stock exchanges, which look to trading and the data it generates as main sources of revenue, we expect to earn the bulk of our revenue from providing companies with software and services that are designed to enable issuers to thrive over the long term.”

Fransk lovgivning om at virksomheder skal have en grad af formuleret ”meningsfuldhed”. ”The French Civil Code provides as a general principle that every company must have a lawful corporate purpose and be constituted in the common interest of its partners. These provisions, which are applicable to all forms of partnership or public or private corporations, have been supplemented by the so-called “Pacte Statute” on the Development and Transformation of Businesses. Each French company must now be managed “in furtherance of its corporate interest” and “while taking into consideration the social and environmental issues arising from its activity”. These changes, which affect millions of legal entities from the smallest partnership to the largest public corporation, are a direct consequence of the recommendations of the so-called Notat-Senard Report (“l’entreprise, objet d’intérêt collectif”, available here .”

Global investor skriver, at erhvervslivets bestyrelser bør involvere sig i klimarisici. I en gennemgang af den globale investor, State Street Global Advisors hedder det, at ”the COP21 Paris Climate Accord signals the turning point of a global effort to address climate change. As nations begin to pursue their emission reduction strategies, directors should evaluate the climate-related risks facing their companies. State Street Global Advisors believes that boards should regard climate change as they would any other significant risk to the business and ensure that a company’s assets and its long-term business strategy are resilient to the impacts of climate change. State Street Global Advisors has developed a framework to help directors evaluate potential climate-related risks that may impact companies within a sector. The three primary climate-related risks we have identified are physical risk, regulatory risk and economic risk. Climate change will continue to be a priority for our asset stewardship and company engagement program in 2016 as we seek to promote effective environmental and sustainability practices and better company performance on behalf of our clients and other stakeholders. Our guidance for directors is based on over 160 climate-related engagements we have had with companies over the past three years.”