The Boardroom Blog

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Two CEOs, two diaries, two tough business challenges

Wednesday, September 01, 2010 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Thought Leadership | Tags: business models, Alex Connock, business, links, Ros Simmons, retail, media, diary, CEO, chief exec

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Chief executives Alex Connock and Ros Simmons were both facing tough challenges in their business last summer. One was fighting a shifting media battlefield seeking new business models; the other was taking her retail company international. Every week, they blogged their thoughts and agendas here on the Grant Thornton Thinking Blogs. Here’s how they did…

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Decoding the UK’s defence dilemma

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Thought Leadership | Tags: Government, military, Ian Wilson, Defence, Aerospace

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Given unprecedented fiscal pressures inherited by the new UK Government, there is an increasing recognition that the UK will have to reassess how it seeks to assert itself militarily. Given the poor condition of the country’s public finances, it is a widely-held view that the UK simply cannot afford to buy and support military assets to simultaneously project air, sea and land force capabilities on a global scale; nor can it expect to address several major conflicts while maintaining effective security at home.

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Ready to take AIM

Friday, August 27, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Thought Leadership | Tags: LSE, David Grundy, AIM, Gerry Beaney, Lloyds Banking Group, Umerah Akram, Andrew Wright, Cobbetts, Seminar, Mike Stevenson

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Grant Thornton Manchester is hosting a private dining experience to explore the opportunities, threats, challenges and debates surrounding AIM.

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Growing clash between front-end spin and back-end data in annual reports, says FRRP

Thursday, August 26, 2010 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: FRC, Governance, Risk | Tags: FRC, Simon Lowe, governance, risk, financial reporting, internal, FRRP, accounts, audit, external

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Inconsistencies in annual reports between the corporate narrative and the external audit figures are becoming more of a focus for the Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP). The problem was highlighted in its annual report, out last week: of the 308 companies reviewed, 146 had been approached by the FRRP for further information or explanation.

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Retail strategy – a boardroom review

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Research, Thought Leadership | Tags: business models, survey, innovation, report, retail, strategy, agenda

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What questions should you be asking this year if you’re sitting on a retail board? Following on from our survey post last week Pressured retailers need to review their business models, here are some suggested questions to bring to your next board meet.

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Pressured retailers must review business model strategy

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Research | Tags: business models, survey, innovation, Strategy, boardroom, report, retail

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Insights from our latest sector survey, Pressure unabated: UK retailers contemplate business model change, should fuel boardroom discussions in the competitive UK retail sector, which has experienced a profound shift from the emergence of the internet as both a shop window and a retail outlet.

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Boards need to improve their decision making process - have your say

Friday, August 06, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: FRC, Governance | Tags: FRC, Corporate Governance, Simon Lowe, governance, Board, UK Corporate Governance Code, ICSA, Financial Reporting Council, NED

A well designed decision making process is one of the most important characteristics of an effective board.  As such boards should not allow themselves to be influenced by a dominant personality or have “no go” areas for non-executives.

Ask yourself - is such a situation familiar to you?

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What to put on the board’s anti-corruption agenda

Monday, June 21, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Corruption, Governance, Research, Thought Leadership

Since the draft Bribery Bill was first published in 2008, it is not just the law that has changed but also attitudes to its enforcement.

There has been an unprecedented level of engagement ahead of the enactment of new legislation by the lead law enforcement agency.

However, despite this increased enforcement activity, our Anti-corruption survey suggests many businesses and their boards seem not to be taking corruption risk or the new Act seriously.

We consider the following steps to be key in establishing the right environment for UK companies….

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Non-executive directors - The best job in the world

Friday, June 18, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Non-executive director | Tags: FT, non-executive director, Lesley Stephenson, Walpole, Zygos Partnership, Julia Budd, Jardine Lloyd Thompson, Greenhill & Co International LLP, Mark Henderson, Standard Chartered, Graphic Alliance, Odgers Berndtson, John Paynter, Gieves and Hawkes, Kit Bingham

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The role of a non-executive director offers satisfying and stimulating career development for senior business individuals. But how do you find and land the best roles? Heather Farmbrough sets out the steps you need to take

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Webinar: Put your Budget questions to the experts

Friday, June 18, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Governance | Tags: Francesca Lagerberg, George Osborne, Stephen Gifford, Budget, Rebecca Pritchard, Clive Fathers, webinar, Emergency Budget, advice, analysis

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We’re inviting you to a special live and interactive Budget webinar this Thursday at 4pm to find out what the new Government’s first Budget means for you. Register here or read on to find out more…

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Part 2 - Peter Butler, Governance for Owners on the Stewardship Code and the role of the Chairman.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Governance, Non-executive director, Stewardship Code | Tags: FT, FTSE 350, risk, non-executive director, Peter Butler, corporate governance review, Stewardship Code

Part 2 of our interview with Peter Butler, Chief Executive and Founding Partner, Governance for Owners at the recent Financial Times Non Executive Directors’ Club on The FTSE 350 Corporate Governance Review Highlights.

Peter gave us his thoughts on the impact of the proposed Stewardship Code and the role of the Chairman.

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Part 1 - Peter Butler, Governance for Owners on the Stewardship Code and the role of the Chairman.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Governance, Non-executive director, Stewardship Code | Tags: FT, FTSE 350, risk, non-executive director, Peter Butler, corporate governance review, Stewardship Code

Part 1 of our interview with Peter Butler, Chief Executive and Founding Partner, Governance for Owners at the recent Financial Times Non Executive Directors’ Club on The FTSE 350 Corporate Governance Review Highlights.

Peter gave us his thoughts on the impact of the proposed Stewardship Code and the role of the Chairman.

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Risk, Fraud and Corruption workshop for experienced non-executive directors

Thursday, May 06, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Corruption, Fraud, Governance, Non-executive director, Risk | Tags: FTSE 350, non-executive director, corporate governance review, UK Corporate Governance Code

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The Financial Times Non-Executive Directors Club is holding a practical and interactive workshop for experienced non-executives on 10 June 2010 to discuss the implications of risk, fraud and corruption to the non-executive directors’ role.

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FT Non-Executive Director Survey - Understanding the NED

Tuesday, April 06, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Non-executive director | Tags: FT, non-executive director, survey, recruitment, NED, remuneration

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The Financial Times, in association with Grant Thornton, are undertaking a survey of existing and aspiring non-executive directors in the UK to learn more about this unique sector.

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10 ways to put business models on the board agenda

Monday, March 15, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Governance | Tags: New Business Models, business models, listed, Board, The Economist, Strategy

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We commissioned The Economist Intelligence Unit to survey UK executives on how assumptions on business models have changed, and how companies are planning to adapt over the next 18 months.

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High profile panel to debate the impact of governance on NEDs

Monday, March 01, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Governance, Non-executive director | Tags: FT, FRC, FTSE 350, Simon Lowe, non-executive director, Sir Christopher Hogg, Peter Butler, corporate governance review, UK Corporate Governance Code, Risk Capital Partners, Seamus Gillen, ICSA, Luke Johnson, Owners, Financial Reporting Council

The Financial Times Non-Executive Directors Club is holding a twilight event on 11 March to discuss the implications to the non-executive directors’ role in light of recent governance releases. 

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84% of Private Equity backers of UK ICT firms plan to make new technology aquisitions in 2010

Friday, February 26, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
| Tags: technology, Grant Thornton, Wendy Hart, investors, Simon Davies, Himanshu Raja, Ash Hussain, Corporate Finance, BT Design, Niki Dixon, Martin Rowland, SaaS, Axial Systems, cloud computing, ICT, LDC, Software as a Service, Information and Communication Technologies,, private equity,

UK firms specialised in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) continue to attract private equity investors, according to our recent ‘Where is the Smart Money Going in ICT?’ report. The survey of the 40 leading private equity investors backing UK ICT firms recorded 84% as saying that their firm planned to undertake an acquisition in the UK ICT sector over the next 12 months.

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Institutional Investors to be more transparent

Friday, February 12, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Governance | Tags: FRC, governance, stewardship code, institutional investors

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has set its sights on improving the transparency of engagement between institutional investors and investee companies through its recently published consultation paper.

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Moving beyond compliance

Friday, February 12, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Governance | Tags: FRC, Walker, governance, FTSE 350, Combined Code, non-executive directors, Corporate Governance Review, Grant Thornton

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February sees the release of our eighth annual FTSE 250 Corporate Governance Review. This year the review shows that the FTSE 350 are now complying with, on average, 91% of the Code’s provisions. So is it job done?

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Grant Thornton recommends Murray Audit Firm Governance Code to investment community

Thursday, January 28, 2010 | Posted by: Grant Thornton
Categories: Governance | Tags: FRC, FTSE 350, governance, Murray, Audit Firm Governance Code, ICAEW

Grant Thornton UK LLP CEO Scott Barnes has welcomed the publication of the FRC and ICAEW’s Audit Firm Governance Code (the Code) as a positive step in promoting investor confidence in the auditing of listed companies, and promoting competition in the audit market.

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