Skip to content

11 July, 2025

  • Saved Articles
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Log Out

Board Agenda

  • Governance
  • Strategy
  • Risk
  • Ethics
  • News
  • Insight
    • Categories

      • View all
      • Governance
      • Strategy
      • Risk
      • Ethics
      • Board Expertise
      • finance
      • Technology
    • EU sustainability

      Omnibus package must not undermine EU sustainability

      Now is the time for Europe to speed up green transition, rather than slow it...

    • high pay

      Pay gap transparency needs to be better

      It’s not unknown for a CEO to earn 500 times as much the median employee,...

    • executive pay

      Executive pay trends in 2025

      Opposition to remuneration reports has grown sharply, according to Georgeson’s analysis of voting outcomes in...

  • Comment
      • View all
    • EU sustainability

      Omnibus package must not undermine EU sustainability

      Now is the time for Europe to speed up green transition, rather than slow it...

    • high pay Pay gap transparency needs to be better

      It’s not unknown for a CEO to earn 500 times as much the median employee,...

    • future-proof governance levers How to future-proof your business

      For boards to bolster resilience and create value in a polycrisis, a combination of hard...

  • Interviews
      • View All Interviews
      • Podcasts
      • Webinars
    • UK Corporate Governance Code Board meetings ‘are not up to scratch’

      Nearly three-quarters of board members believe the board’s performance in meetings needs improvement, an expert...

    • financial sanctions Tariffs chaos drives boardroom focus on resilience

      Business leaders will prioritise the resilience of their organisations in the face of economic upheaval...

    • supply chain oversight Act now on supply chain oversight, boards warned

      Board directors need to critically engage with the business’s supply chain activity, a panel of...

  • Board Careers
  • Resource Centre
      • White Paper Downloads
      • Book Reviews
      • Board Advisory & Corporate Services
    • C-suite barometer: outlook 2025 – UK insights

      Forvis Mazars draws UK insights from its global study and looks at UK executives’ strategic...

    • Talent Management 2025 Mind Gym

      Talent Management in 2025

      From rethinking leadership to wrestling with AI, MindGym's report reveals the trends shaping talent strategies...

    • Korn Ferry CHRO 2025 (Copy)

      On The Highwire: Being a CHRO in 2025

      Korn Ferry surveyed 750 senior HR leaders (including 450 CHROs) to understand their key priorities...

  • Events
  • Search by topic
    • Governance
    • Strategy
    • Risk
    • Ethics
    • Regulation
    • ESG
    • Investor Relations
    • Careers
    • Board Expertise
    • finance
    • Technology

World of uncertainty for governance as need for change intensifies

by Gavin Hinks on July 15, 2017

A spate of reports indicate that this is far from being a settled time for governance. In fact, the agitation for change in governance is as dynamic as demands for change in politics and economics.

corporate governance, uncertainty, Macron, Trump, May, AI, sustainability

Photos: Shutterstock

Sometimes development just comes thick and fast. So it was over the past ten days or so, for corporate governance.

It began with news that the review of the UK’s corporate governance code will likely highlight boardroom responsibility for culture, and potentially expand the responsibilities of remuneration committees to consider the pay not just of executives, but across companies as a whole.

And nomination committees could see themselves charged with developing an executive pipeline, not just filling executive seats when they become available.

Adding sustainability to fiduciary duties makes it a legal requirement. That’s a big step.

Then there was the Taylor Review saying that the best way to make work better, even for the lowest-paid members of the workforce, would be through corporate governance, not through regulation. That needs some unpacking, but it basically says work should be fulfilling, it should be fairly paid with fair conditions and it is a boardroom’s responsibility to make it happen.

Lastly, came the interim report of the EU High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, which said fiduciary duties across Europe should include a responsibility to manage long-term sustainability risks.

The group has yet to produce its final report, but writing that risk into fiduciary duties essentially means writing it into law. Currently, all the work on persuading companies to operate with sustainability in mind has been about voluntary action. Adding it to fiduciary duties makes it a legal requirement. That’s a big step.

Big shift for boards

At the moment, it’s not clear where any of these issues will end. Aggregated, they could all mean significant change in governance requirements, and potentially a big shift in the work on the boardroom’s agenda. That said, for the best companies, with the most forward-thinking boards, these issues are already on their agendas, their directors already grappling with the issues.

Brexit, the rise of populist politics, geopolitical risk, slow economies and technological transformation have added to the uncertainty stew. And that is reflected in governance.

The one thing we can say for sure is that we currently function in an environment of uncertainty. Brexit, the rise of populist politics, geopolitical risk, slow economies and technological transformation have added to the uncertainty stew. And that is reflected in governance.

Governance is racing to keep pace and adapt. All these reports are direct results of the change and uncertainty in the world.

Company directors and non-executive directors are in the thick of it. They will need to adapt and adapt fast as politicians and regulators seek to address the evolving landscape of politics and economics. There will be little opportunity for rest.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail

Related Posts

  • Internal auditors sound alarm over corporate culture
    March 1, 2022
    Book marked "company culture"

    Two-thirds of internal audit chiefs support attempts to strengthen directors’ duties to “promote, monitor and assess” corporate culture.

  • MEPs protest over EU sustainable corporate governance measures
    June 25, 2021
    EU flag

    Members of the European Parliament have written to commissioners amid fears that key measures in the legislation will be watered down.

  • Campaigners protest against EU due diligence proposals
    September 7, 2022
    EU due diligence directive

    Objectors say the directive on corporate sustainability and human rights falls short, while companies criticise the demands it makes.

  • Good governance boosts companies' CSR performance
    July 5, 2021
    Board members looking at corporate reports

    Study concludes that “corporate board reforms... appear to have a positive spillover for non-financial stakeholders”.

Search


Follow Us

Register Free

Stay in the know! Register to access the latest governance news; plus receive updates about our events and podcasts – Sign up here

 

Most Popular

Featured Resources

wef global risks 2025

The Global Risks Report 2025

The 20th edition of the Global Risks Report reveals an increasingly fractured global...
Supply chain management cover

Strategic Oversight in Supply Chain Management: A Guide for Corporate Boards 2025

Supply chains have become complex, interdependent and opaque and—according to research...
OB-Cyber-Security

Cyber Security: What Boards Need to Know

Maintaining firewalls, protecting servers and filtering malicious emails rarely make...

The IA’S Principles Of Remuneration 2024 2025

This guidance from the Investment Association is aimed at assisting remuneration...
Diligent 2024 leadership tech cover

Leadership, decision-making & the role of technology: Business survey 2024

This research report by Board Agenda and Diligent sheds light on how board directors...

Director Reference Guide: Navigating Conflict in the Boardroom

The 'Director Reference Guide' on navigating conflict in the boardroom provides practical...
Nasdaq 2024 governance report cover

Nasdaq 2024 Global Governance Pulse

This Nasdaq survey gathered data from more than 870 board members, executives, and...

Becoming a non-executive director (4th edition)

Board composition is the subject of much debate, while the role of the non-executive...
art & science brainloop new cover

The Art & Science of Creating an Effective Board

Boards are coming under more scrutiny and pressure than ever before from regulators,...
SAA First time NED guide

First Time Guide for Non-Executive Directors

The role of the non-executive director has never been more vital: to advise, support,...

Register Free

Stay in the know! Register to access the latest governance news; plus receive updates about our events and podcasts. Register


  • Editors & Contributors
  • Editorial Advisory Board
  • Board Advisory & Corporate Services
  • Media Marketing Solutions
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Board Director Network
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
|

Copyright © 2025 Questor Media Group Ltd.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap