With speculation mounting over the date of the UK’s general election, business leaders have called for reform of directors’ duties to be included in manifesto pledges, as well as a promise to complete long overdue reforms to the country’s audit and financial reporting regulator.

The call comes in a “Manifesto for Business” published by the Institute of Directors (IoD) this week.

The IoD wants reform of section 172 of the Companies Act to state that the duties of directors should be to “the company as a whole” and do away with any suggestion that the duty is to “prioritise the interests of shareholders”. This is the line taken by the Better Business Act campaign, of which the IoD is a supporter.

Audit reform is also on the IoD’s agenda. Since the completion of an inquiry into the collapse of Carillion, it has been a long-standing aim to change the Financial Reporting Council into the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority, giving it brand new powers. The reform has been sidelined for the past two years and the IoD places the change high on its governance wishlist.

Roger Barker, director of policy at the IoD, says: “Currently the economy is stuck in a rut of weak business confidence, inadequate business investment and poor productivity growth. Without a solution to this problem, the UK will be condemned to a future of constrained public finances and declining living standards.

“The good news is that the UK has tremendous latent strengths due to the quality of its people, openness to new ideas, respected corporate governance and innovative companies. With the right policy framework, the upside for the UK economy is significant.”

The IoD’s is the first of what are likely to be many calls for policies to be included in election commitments by the political parties vying for power.

When is the general election?

Though the election is likely to be held at the end of this year, there has been speculation that it could take place as early as May. A polling day of 2 May would require dissolution of Parliament by 26 March. The government could hold off until late January 2025, though that is thought unlikely.

Among the other governance policies the IoD would like to see in party manifestos is a “fundamental review” of the UK’s corporate reporting framework. The IoD is said to be concerned that there is a “growing burden” of reporting.

The IoD’s report says: ”The government should undertake a holistic review of the entire corporate reporting framework in order to ensure that it remains fit for the future.”

Last year, the current government cancelled long-planned additions to reporting regulations that would have seen companies make more disclosures on their audit and assurance policies, risk and resilience preparations, anti-fraud measures and distributable reserves.

The move shocked the audit and financial reporting sector as the long-debated policies had been part of the response to the Carillion debacle.

Director education is also a priority, with the IoD calling for “pre-requisites” to be defined for directors faced with their first role.

More generally, the IoD has called for an industrial strategy to support investment; a new skill agency to assess and monitor the country’s needs; and use of taxes to incentivise investment in skills and training.

Jonathan Geldart, director general of the IoD, says: “IoD members want a policy framework that is stable, light-touch and focused on the longer-term.

“As in their own organisations, directors expect decision-making to be based on evidence and followed through in a predictable manner.”