With a broad coalition of interests coalescing around the ESG banner, there are many reasons to support boards in developing their ESG understanding and decisions to improve relevant ESG-related activities.

The topic of modern slavery is key not only to businesses but also to governments, and its importance is increasing within large, multinational corporations.

Trina Hill FCG gives us her view on what good governance looks like and what companies should focus on to achieve this.

The next in our series focuses on Structural Changes, Talent Capacity and Development

In this podcast Patrick Skinner, General Manager for UK and Europe at Atticus, discusses the importance of the verification process in ensuring that statements included in regulated documents such as annual reports aren’t misleading. Patrick highlights relevant regulatory considerations and discusses the risk of shareholder activism and reputational damage associated with making misleading statements. He also considers verification in the context of greenwashing risk and TCFD disclosure. He argues that automating verification can help combat the risk of human error in what can sometimes be a repetitive and tedious process.

In this podcast, James Beasley, Senior Director at Nasdaq Governance Solutions, discusses the concept of individual accountability, which was first developed in the financial services sector. James explains that to apply the concept an organisation will undergo a process of defining and communicating its senior individuals’ accountabilities. James considers whether the lessons learned in financial services from applying this regime could be extended to other sectors, arguing that outcomes such as a sense of responsibility coupled with a strong degree of clarity could be universally beneficial. James suggests practical steps that company secretaries or governance professionals and their boards can take to implement individual accountability at their organisation.

FTSE350 boards are displaying more confidence in the economy, with the results of a survey published today by The Chartered Governance Institute showing a twofold increase in the number of respondents believing that the global economic outlook will improve in the coming year and a fivefold increase in the number believing that the UK economy will improve. This is not yet enough to encourage greater capital investment, however, despite fears lessening over Brexit, with fewer companies now rating an exit as damaging and the overwhelming majority (81%) not currently considering relocating their head office or listing.

The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland Awards Judging panel.