4 March, 2021

Section 172 reporting is an opportunity to increase transparency

New S172 reporting requirements should spur firms to review how board decisions are reached, and push boards to learn more about the views of stakeholders.

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For well-run companies, the new requirement to report on how their boards have discharged their duty under Section 172 (S172) of the Companies Act to "have regard to" the interests of employees, customers and other key stakeholders is nothing more than a welcome increase in transparency. The duty set out in S172 is certainly not new, and those companies will already have in place good mechanisms to make sure that board papers include an analysis of relevant stakeholder considerations and the potential impact of the options put forward for consideration, that the right people are in the boardroom for the discussion and that the minutes of t

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Companies Act 2006, ethics, Institute of Business Ethics, Mark Chambers, reporting, section 172, stakeholders, trust in business