Recent changes to the legislation on reporting – such as the introduction of the strategic report and new remuneration reporting regulations – mean that this is a challenging time for company directors in terms of penning your annual reports. We have found a number of helpful documents that explain the changes and provide guidance to company directors, including:
- Deloitte’s The Strategic Report – A practical guide to the new Regulations: This document provides guidance on drafting a strategic report which is cohesive with the annual report. It provides information on the components of the strategic report and how to fit them together, as well as a checklist for complying with the new legislative requirements.
- GC 100’s Directors’ Remuneration Reporting Guidance: This guidance offers valuable insight into the key elements of the UK Government’s directors’ remuneration reporting requirements, and provides “best practice” examples on how to comply with Schedule 8 of the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) (Amendment) Regulations 2013.
- FRC’s Financial Reporting Lab’s Reports: The Financial Reporting Lab frequently publishes project reports exploring innovative and more effective reporting solutions. It is worth mentioning the Report on Pay and Performance, which outlines investor and company’s views on the remuneration reports and suggests simplified remuneration disclosure scenario charts with clearer measurement methodologies.
- Also, the Lab’s report on Reporting of Audit Committees provides useful insight into investor and company’s views on how to tackle significant financial statement reporting issues, external audit effectiveness, and appointing the auditor.
- The Lab’s Reminders for the Reporting Season document highlights and summarises the key findings of the Lab’s reports related to the reporting season, namely regarding audit committee and remuneration reporting, presentation of market risk disclosures and answering investors’ basic questions about debt and cash flows.
- BDO's “Corporate Governance: a practical guide for audit committees”: this guide approaches running an audit committee and provides useful insight on the roles and responsibilities, and the particular issues for, and relationships of, the chair of the audit committee.
- Also, BDO's “Waiting is the Most Difficult Bit”, is an analysis of audit committee reporting within annual reports of AIM and listed companies in 2013.
