On the horizon

With the UK’s budget looming, speculation is rife about what will be in the chancellor’s plans and anyone who’s anyone is calling for their own pet policies.

Over at the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (CIIA), they remain resolutely fixed on persuading government to push forward on audit reform. Remember audit reform, the great white whale of financial regulation?

CIIA has published its budget wishlist seeking investment in apprenticeships, skills and public sector internal audit. But they also launch a harpoon for audit reform.

“The Chartered IIA is also calling on the government to use the Budget to reaffirm its commitment to the Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill, announced in last year’s King’s Speech but still unpublished.”

Sometimes, watching British business feels like sailing on the Pequod but we’re sure that’s just us. It is, isn’t it?

Virtually there

You thought graduates and junior roles were most threatened by AI taking over, but it seems board directors could be forced to move over, too. Logitech chief executive Hanneke Faber, says she would consider an AI agent as a possible member of the company’s board.

Speaking at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit, Faber said: “We already use [AI agents] in almost every meeting.” She added: “You have to keep in mind and make sure you really want that bot to take action. But if you don’t have an AI agent in every meeting, you’re missing out on some of the productivity.” Deus ex machina indeed.

Measured response

Proxy adviser Glass Lewis has declared it will do away with its “benchmark” voting recommendations to offer investors a range of new options.

Reuters reports this is because of diverging approaches between US and European investors and criticism in the US where Republican politicians have accused proxies of possessing way too much influence, especially when it comes to voting on ESG issues.

A spokesman told Reuters: “The whole geopolitical environment is attached to this.”

Wide of the mark

UK businesses are good at social sustainable development goals (SDGs), but are falling behind on environmental goals such as managing waste, water, biodiversity and emissions, according to a new report.

The conclusions come from the United Nations’ Global Compact report Trailblazers and Transformers, which looks at progress against the UN SDGs.

In a foreword to the report, Steve Kenzie, executive director of the UN Global Compact Network UK, says: “With only five years left to deliver the sustainable development goals, the question is not whether business should act, but how quickly and boldly it can transform.”

The report looks at various industry sectors, noting where they do well and where they struggle. Consumer staples, for example, leads on SDG integration across value chains but struggles with waste, water and biodiversity.

But here’s how financial services is summed up: it holds “unmatched influence through sustainable finance, but a gap remains between commitments and measurable impact.” Really must do better, finserv.