Sir Winfried Bischoff speaks at the NAPF Stewardship Conference
03 Oct, 2014
Sir Winfried Bischoff, Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), delivered the keynote address at the NAPF Stewardship Conference on 16 September 2014.
Sir Winfried spoke about the importance of fostering investment to the FRC's overall mission. He talked about the objectives and application of the UK Stewardship Code, first issued by the FRC in 2010, looking at the impact it has had from the point of view of both companies and investors. He also covered the European Commission’s proposed revisions to the Shareholder Rights Directive, which could mean that the Stewardship Code moves from be a voluntary code of best practice to a legal requirement for managers and owners.
Following on from this he discussed the imminent changes to the UK Corporate Governance Code, which were finalised on 17 September 2014. These changes include the FRC's final response to the recommendations of the Sharman Inquiry - increased responsibilities for boards in relation to risk management and internal control and the requirement for a new viability assessment in the annual report.
The full text of the speech can be obtained from the FRC's website.