Dr Ian Peters, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors, explains why internal audit is being given a critical role in the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) review of the Corporate Governance Code
Twenty five years ago, the Cadbury Committee created what was then known as the Combined Code. Since then corporate scandals have continued to occur, despite the UK’s high standards of corporate governance and several iterations of the Code being produced.
The ongoing economic and social implications of these meltdowns are significant, especially regarding trust in businesses – the Edelman Trust Barometer revealed that CEO credibility has declined 12 points to 37 per cent in 2017.
In August, Theresa May pledged to change the corporate governance regime to ‘rewire’ the economy so it works for everyone, not just the select few. As part of this, the government announced a raft of corporate governance reforms including the development of a voluntary set of corporate governance principles for large private companies.
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