Corporate Governance

2004 ethnic minority directors index: FTSE 100 companies. Executive summary. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Executive summary of 2004 ethnic minority directors index.

Accounting for people: consultation paper. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Closed consultation. The Task Force on Human Capital Management was established by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in January 2003 to consider best practice in human capital reporting and produce a final advisory report by the autumn. The consultation paper identifies some key questions the Task Force has set out to consider, outlines relevant research findings and evidence, makes some preliminary proposals and suggests some possible reporting mechanisms. Consultation period ended 4 July 2003.

BERR statement of the prosecutors' pledge. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Describes the Department's pledge in the conduct of prosecutions relating to misconduct in corporate or personal insolvencies. Official receivers and liquidators report this conduct to the Department’s lawyers, who then consider whether a criminal investigation should take place.

Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004. A guide to the new investigations provisions introduced by the act. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Guidance on the new investigations provisions introduced by the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004.

Companies Act 1985: model 212 notice. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Section 212 gives a public company the power to investigate the ownership of its shares by sending a written notice (the 212 notice) to anyone whom they have reasonable cause to believe has, or had, an interest in their relevant share capital at some time during the 3 years immediately preceding the date of issue of the 212 notice. This publication is a model 212 notice which companies can adapt for their purposes.

Companies in 2004 - 2005: report for the year ended 31 March 2005 [HC 544]. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

House of Commons papers: 2005-06: 544. Report on the activities of DTI, Companies House and the Insolvency Service within the Companies Acts, presented pursuant to the Companies Act 1985 Section 729.

Corporate social responsibility: a government update. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Overview of the government policy on corporate social responsibility and government support for the agenda. See also later update URN 09/503.

Directors' views on exemption from the statutory audit. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Report of study commissioned by DTI in 2003 to investigate issues in connection with audit exemption by examining the view of the directors of small private limited companies.

Draft Statutory Instrument: The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2008. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Draft regulation for comment on making amendments to the registration arrangements for third country auditors. Also includes short explanatory note. Deadline for comments was 29 September 2008. See URN 08/1078 for fuller explanatory note, and 08/1298 for the Government response.

Final regulatory impact assessment on the operating and financial review and director's report regulations. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Final regulatory impact assessment on the operating and financial review and director's report regulations. The draft regulations were consulted on in the consultation document during May - July 2003.

Guidance on Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004 provisions on audit and accounts and associated secondary legislation. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

A guide to the accounts and audit provisions in the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, and the associated secondary legislation that affect business.

Guidance on the changes to the directors' report requirements in the Companies Act 1985: April and December 2005. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Provides a guide to regulations made under the Companies Act 1985 implementing changes to the directors report requirements. Originally published December 2005, new edition with minor changes in the introduction.

Human capital management practices outside the UK: [tables]. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Supporting data tables from PriceWaterhouseCoopers for the research report on human capital management practices outside the UK (for key findings see URN 03/1927), commissioned by the Accounting for People Task Force.

Human capital measurement and reporting: a British perspective. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

June 2003 research report from London Business School. Commissioned by the Accounting for People Task Force to help inform their thinking. Looks at current practices on human capital measurement and reporting by top FTSE companies in the UK.

COMPANY LAW FACTSHEET

Increase to the audit exemption thresholds. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Fact sheet on the increase to the audit exemption thresholds.

Modern company law for a competitive economy. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Closed consultation. Outlines plans for the handling of the fundamental review of the framework of core company law. These envisage the establishment of a Steering Group and Working Groups with broad representation, a Consultative Committee, and the publication for comment of key documents from time to time. Consultation period ended 30 June 1998.

COMPANY LAW REVIEW

Modern company law for a competitive economy: company formation and capital maintenance. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Closed consultation. A consultation document from the Company Law Review Steering Group, addresses possible changes to the Companies Act 1985 on the subject of company formation and capital maintenance. Consultation period ended 7 January 2000.

COMPANY LAW REVIEW

Modern company law for a competitive economy: completing the structure. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Closed consultation. This is the third strategic consultation document issued by the steering group of the Company Law Review, set up to take forward a fundamental review of company law. It will be the last major consultation document before the Steering Group presents its final report to Ministers in Spring 2001. It takes forward the proposals consulted on in 'Developing the Framework' (March 2000), revising them in the light of responses. It also sets out new proposals relating to: company law and groups of companies; reconstructions, mergers and jurisdictional migration; a regulatory and institutional framework for company; and sanctions. Consultation period ended 28 February 2001.

COMPANY LAW REVIEW

Modern company law for a competitive economy: final report. Volume 1

Report to ministers by the independent steering group which has carried out a fundamental review of company law. It contains proposals for a major re-working of the whole framework of company law to make it fit for the new Century.

COMPANY LAW REVIEW

Modern company law for a competitive economy: reforming the law concerning overseas companies. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Closed consultation. A consultation document from the Company Law Review Steering Group, addresses reform of part XXIII of the Companies Act 1985, which regulates companies incorporated overseas but with a presence in the UK. Consultation period ended 7 January 2000.

COMPANY LAW REVIEW

Modern company law for a competitive economy: small business summary

Highlights how small companies stand to benefit from the proposals of the Independent Company Law Review. Full details of the small and private company recommendations can be found in Chapter 2 and 4 of the full Final Report of the Company Law Review (URN 01/942 & URN 01/943).

COMPANY LAW REVIEW

Modern company law for a competitive economy: trading disclosures. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Closed consultation. This consultation is restricted in scope to the law relating to trading disclosures. It does not propose any fundamental change in the existing requirements, rather the proposals are to simplify, to clarify, and to update the law, removing anomalies and closing loopholes. The key issue is how, without imposing undue burdens on companies or their employees, to ensure companies' suppliers, customers, etc know with whom they are doing business and where to find additional information which they would need, for example, in the event of a dispute of it the company 'disappears'. Consultation period ended 12 April 2001.

Narrative business reporting: a consultation on narrative reporting requirements for companies. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Closed consultation. The Government is now inviting comments on any considerations which Ministers should take into account in deciding whether, and if so how, to frame amendments to these or other provisions of the Company Law Reform Bill to ensure effective forward looking narrative reporting by quoted companies, including, where appropriate, on social, community, employee and environmental matters. Consultation period ended 24 March 2006.

Report on diversity of FTSE 100 Directors, July 2004. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

One of the recommendations of the Tyson report, published in June 2003, was that 'Research and measurement should be implemented to encourage greater board diversity'. As a result the DTI commissioned research from the Cranfield School of Management to investigate the levels of ethnic minority directors in FTSE 100 companies.

Responses to the consultation on implementation of the Statutory Audit Directive. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Collection of responses received to the Government's consultation on the policy options for implementing the Statutory Audit Directive. Relates to the published policy conclusions and draft regulations URN 07/1239.

Review of the role and effectiveness of non-executive directors: consultation paper (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Closed consultation. An independent review, lead by Derek Higgs, to examine what can be done to strengthen the quality, independence and effectiveness of UK non-executive directors. Consultation period ended 6th September 2002.

The impact of shareholders' pre-emption rights on a public company's ability to raise new capital. (PDF) (link opens in a new window)

Closed consultation. A discussion paper on the impact of shareholders' pre-emption rights on a public company's ability to raise new capital. Consultation period ended 16 December 2004.