Corporate governance reform green paper response

ACCA's response to the green paper 'Corporate Governance Reform' issued by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy.

ACCA welcomes the opportunity to comment on the government green paper 'Corporate Governance Reform' issued by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy issued in November 2016. 

ACCA supports proposals to strengthen accountability and transparency and we welcome renewed government interest in this area. From our work on governance and corporate culture we are convinced that the best methods for achieving these outcomes are from companies who create a workplace which integrates employees and stakeholders in a way which means everyone supports the delivery of business goals.

Excessive focus on prescriptive legal measures on corporate governance not only risks introducing burdensome change for its own sake, but can end up masking the very problems they seek to resolve, as firms seek technical compliance rather than reform.

In developing this response, ACCA received input from ACCA's Global Forum for Governance, Risk and Performance and UK Member Panels (Company and Financial Services).