Regulation stations

Governance and financial reporting watchdog Richard Moriarty has said his regulator will continue “reducing unnecessary burdens on business while maintaining high standards” in his statement on priorities for the coming year.

That’s not out of the ordinary for the chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

After all, regulators everywhere are processing how to reflect the chancellor’s view that regulation is a “boot on the neck” of business.

Only Moriarty may be treading a more difficult line. This week, he told podcast fans that he still needs the government to push through reforms, potentially creating a new watchdog—once touted as ARGA (the audit, governance and reporting authority)—that will give his staff new powers over auditors and company directors before another big scandal happens and the public once again calls for change.

Hmmm. Wonder how that’s all going to go?

On the level

There is more on this: the esteemed officers of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) are worried about their members serving on boards if ARGA, or any new regulator, continues to be just a recommendation in a review fast disappearing into the dim and distant past.

Peter van Veen, governance and stewardship supremo at the ICAEW, this week issued a video in which he says delaying the reforms prompts big questions. “And in particular, the aspect we feel quite strongly about, as an institute and a profession, is that our members who serve on boards are held to a higher standard, which we’re okay with, but they also have higher potential liabilities when things go wrong as compared to other non-executive directors and other directors.

“And we were hoping that ARGA would at least try and level the playing field and not discourage members of our institute to be board directors because of that asymmetry.”

Van Veen has support from his boss, ICAEW CEO Alan Vallance. “While we recognise governance has had other priorities, it has had ample time to pass this legislation.” It’s a waiting game.

Trump: ‘unjustifiable’ pay levels

Poor old US defence sector CEOs are really under fire. In an explosive move, the US president, Donald Trump, has called for a cap on “exorbitant” defence sector CEO paychecks until the chief execs increase their manufacturing facilities.

Trump opened fire in a Truth Social post that pay levels are “unjustifiable given how slowly these companies are delivering vital equipment to our military and our allies”.

Trump promptly triggered an executive order banning dividends and share buybacks for defence companies. That should go down a bomb.