Instant Starmer?

While the world appears beset with worries (what with wars in Ukraine, Gaza and anxiety about the US presidential election), confidence among UK directors appears to be on a high.

In fact, the Institute of Directors reports that confidence among directors is at its highest level since July 2021. And it seems it may be, at least in some part, the Labour effect.

“This looks like an early vote of confidence in the new government,” says Anna Leach, chief economist at the IoD.

She adds: “We’ve seen welcome consistency in the government’s messaging so far, particularly on the dual priorities of growth and stability.”

Amazing what a new government can achieve just by being a new government.

Court out

Keen observers of US governance will be aware that there is currently an ongoing debacle over the ability of Delaware—long the home of corporate America—to continue being the guardian of corporate governance standards through its courts.

The Financial Times reports that a court’s overruling of Elon Musk’s $46bn paycheck and the nullification of other cases in the state’s courts have caused observers to worry that the “foundations of Delaware corporate law have been carelessly erased without an understanding of the broader consequences”.

This has all led to a sour atmosphere in Delaware between parties on different sides of the argument. The FT cites one legal source as saying: “I’ve never seen it this bad.”

Let’s hope they sort things out.

Unaccounted for

Not a good week for EY, the audit firm. The Financial Reporting Council reports that it has fined the firm £251,000 over breach of ethical standards for work on the accounts of EVRAZ plc, the FTSE 100-listed Russian steelmaker.

The standards breached are those that limit the volume of non-audit work a firm can take on from an audit client.

Claudia Mortimer, deputy executive counsel at the FRC, said: “In this instance, EY’s systems and controls failed to ensure compliance with the ethical standard which led to the fee cap being breached.”

Better keep an eye on those timesheets next time.