UK: The Companies Act 2006 (Scottish public sector companies to be audited by the Auditor General for Scotland) Order 2020

The Companies Act 2006 (Scottish public sector companies to be audited by the Auditor General for Scotland) Order 2020, made by the Scottish Ministers under the power granted to them by section 483 of the Companies Act 2006, came into force on 26 November: see here or here (pdf). The accompanying policy note is available here. The effect of the Order is to provide for the accounts of Scottish National Investment Bank plc to be audited by the Auditor General for Scotland.

UK: FRC expresses disappointment with the overall quality of corporate governance reporting

In a report published yesterday, the Financial Reporting Council has expressed its disappointment with the overal quality of corporate governance reporting: see here (pdf). While noting some examples of good quality reporting in respect of the Corporate Governance Code 2018, the FRC nevertheless found - based on a sample drawn from companies of various size, as well research from other organisations - that "the objective of too many companies is to claim full compliance with the Code, which has led to the 'tick-box' practices we have tried to discourage ... We are concerned that an unexpectedly high number of companies in our sample claimed full compliance but could not demonstrate this in their reports ... We were surprised that in many cases corporate governance reporting was not coherent and cohesive".

UK: The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Suspension of Liability for Wrongful Trading and Extension of the Relevant Period) Regulations 2020

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Suspension of Liability for Wrongful Trading and Extension of the Relevant Period) Regulations 2020 were laid before Parliament today and come into force tomorrow: see here or here (pdf). An accompanying explanatory memorandum is available: see here (pdf). Briefly put, the Regulations extend certain measures introduced earlier this year in response to the Covid pandemic including those relating to the potential liability of directors for wrongful trading under section 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986 and the manner in which company meetings are held. 

Germany: board gender diversity proposals announced

Several proposals regarding the gender diversity of company boards have been announced.  For companies where the Federal Government is the majority shareholder, the supervisory board will need to contain at least 30% female directors.  For listed companies with co-determination, there must be at least one female director on the management board where that board contains 4 or more directors. A copy of the formal ministerial announcement, in German, is available here. Media reports in English are available here and here. 

UK: the accounting and audit framework from 1 January 2021 - letters to firms

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Financial Reporting Council have written to accounting and audit firms explaining the key changes that will arise, in respect of the accounting and audit frameworks, from the start of 2021 (and when the transition period ends): see, respectively, here (pdf) and here (pdf).