Abreast assured

Sustainability reporting is on the rise, so UK watchdogs want to know about the assurance market for this kind of disclosure.

This should be an interesting investigation, not least because there is no obligation for UK companies to commission assurance of non-financial reporting. Though, to be honest, the days when it’s not mandatory may be numbered.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) says it is interested in the choice, quality and competition among sustainability assurance providers and what the connection may be between the statutory audit market and the sustainability market.

That is another interesting question because, since the collapse of Carillion, the UK has been kicking around key market reforms for statutory audit—including managed shared audit—and little of that seems to have happened. That’s not the regulator’s fault: that particular piece of inaction is down to ministers and ministers alone. Where’s there’s no will, there’s clearly no way.

Still Mark Babington, executive director of regulatory standards at the FRC, is intent on lifting the lid on sustainability assurance, a market he describes as “vital”.

“By promoting transparency and high standards in this area, we can support the endeavours of UK companies to supply high quality information to financial markets that enables opportunities for growth and investment across the UK economy,” says Babington.

It might also be important because the watchdogs currently have under review the introduction of the two new international sustainability reporting standards—IFRS S1 and 2. If they get the green light, mandatory assurance won’t be far behind.

Best to get an idea of the market now before it’s too late.

Humble pie, anyone?

Being humble is the fastest way to get ahead. That’s the conclusion of a study by the University of Sussex Business School after grilling 610 business leaders across 18 industries and 21 job functions.

Elsa Chan, lecturer in organisational behaviour at Sussex, says: “While some leaders climb the corporate ladder by taking a dominance route which could be costly, our research reveals that humble leaders take an alternative route—the status route—that increases their influence.

“Our study suggests that humble leaders can create and capture some human capital value through informal mentoring and enhance promotability within organisations. It sheds light on the potential of humble leaders to not only positively impact their followers, but also to advance their own careers within organisations.”

Board Agenda wonders whether we’re talking genuine humble or the kind of humble that leaders use because that’s what HR training told them to use.

Overpaid and over there

News reaches Board Agenda of the top ten bonuses received by business leaders. It will come as no surprise that the research, conducted by FounderPass, finds that Elon Musk wins the largest annual bonus, with $456.7m.

Frankly, that makes the rest of the top 10 look a bit like small change. Even Google and Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai’s $98m pales beside it.

Worth noting too that there are no Brits among the leaders, nor UK-listed companies. No doubt it’ll have those who argue for bigger UK CEO pay packets salivating. The Capital Markets Industry Taskforce and Julia Hoggett at the London Stock Exchange will be sharpening their arguments even now.

Shades of grey

So it turns out that age does matter. A study by boffins at Griffith Business School in Australia find that older chief executives are less likely to engage in cutting carbon emissions.

Nick Barter and Akihiro Omura write: “Our study suggests that older CEOs are making short-term decisions and failing to consider generational challenges.

“However, at the same time, it suggests that the presence of younger influential executives could moderate this trend. Thus, enrolling companies into generational challenges may require a reconsideration of governance structures.”

Come on, guys, do it for the kids!