On 3 March 2011, the Financial Reporting Council published new 'Guidance on Board Effectiveness', which now replaces ‘Suggestions for Good Practice from the Higgs Report’ (known as the Higgs guidance).
The new guidance is intended to help companies apply the principles of the UK Corporate Governance Code, in particular Sections A and B of the Code on the leadership and effectiveness of the Board. It is not intended to be prescriptive, but instead aimed at helping companies to think about how their boards can carry out their role more effectively. The guidance is a result of consultations carried out by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in 2010.
The Quoted Companies Alliance's Corporate Governance Guidelines for Smaller Quoted Companies (September 2011) has been included in the guidance's section on further resources for companies on corporate governance.
