Letting the best be the enemy of the good? The impact of the UK’s audit and corporate governance reforms.

Following the publication of its much-anticipated reforms to audit and corporate governance, and with just a month left to run on the consultation, the UK government has placed itself at the centre of arguments about the role of directors, investors and regulators in ensuring companies are well-run. These reforms attempt to rectify the very public failures of BHS, Carillon and Thomas Cook, and come at the same time as attempts to make the UK a more attractive place for companies to IPO.

While the government's white paper provides much detail - including new reporting requirements for companies, shared audits to increase competition and expanded director liability - concerns remain about implementation and the inter-relationship between these changes and other proposals that aim to encourage FDI.

Archie Norman, Chairman of Marks and Spencer and Vice Chairman of Global Counsel; Rebecca Park, Practice Lead, financial services; and Alex Dawson, Practice Lead, UK politics and policy, discussed:

• The political context for this very broad sweep of reforms; 
• The message the existing proposals send to corporates, investors and banks;
• The concerns about ease and the likelihood of full implementation of the white paper proposals;
• The wider suite of changes that are required to further the government’s ambition of making UK plc more attractive.