UK: the future of narrative reporting - BIS consultation paper published

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has today published a consultation paper on the future of narrative reporting: see here (pdf). To quote from the paper:

This consultation is looking at how the narrative reporting framework is working in practice. How well are companies complying with the existing requirements? Are they focusing on their strategy, their principal risks and uncertainties and providing the right quality of relevant information on these matters to enable their members to hold them to account? Are shareholders actually using the information that companies provide? Do narrative reports generally reflect the intentions and spirit underlying the statutory framework? Are there ways to improve the narrative reporting framework as a whole?

The consultation focuses in particular on the business review provisions. In this context, the Coalition commitment to reinstate an Operating and Financial Review to ensure that directors’ social and environmental duties have to be covered in company reporting and investigate further ways of improving corporate accountability and transparency is particularly relevant. It also considers issues relating to remuneration, and in particular to the link between performance criteria for payment to directors and the company’s objectives and performance".

A consultation response form is available here (Word) and further background information is available here.