Today we launch the Call for Evidence for Tomorrow's Corporate Reporting - we are immensely grateful to PwC and CIMA for their support and for working so collaboratively to shape this programme of inquiry.
Tomorrow's Corporate Reporting asks what needs to be done to make corporate reporting fit for purpose?
http://tomorrowscorporatereporting.com
Corporate reporting plays an essential role in the effective functioning of the market economy – it provides the building blocks of information necessary for effective decision-making by investors and other key stakeholders.
Tomorrow’s Company has a long-standing interest in the effectiveness of corporate reporting, and has played a key role in its development in the UK. As a result of our original 1995 inquiry report, the UK’s 2006 Companies Act redefined the duties of directors and introduced new requirements for narrative reporting which built on our 1998 reports 'Sooner, Sharper Simpler', and 'Prototype plc'.
However, there is still - to say the least - room for improvement. As David Phillips of PwC so nicely observes of the current system, with urbane and measured under-statement, it is 'sub optimal'. Charles Tilley of CIMA has a somewhat more direct approach in communicating, which has done so much to inform the sharpness and accessibility of the Call for Evidence: we are hugely grateful to both David and Charles for their leadership, and long-term commitment to pushing thinking and encouraging new practice in this key area.
We are concerned that whilst there are useful initiatives being taken forward to improve the corporate reporting system, despite such initiatives - and all the past efforts – little has changed. As the
Financial Times recently commented on our new programme:
"By asking what are the weaknesses and strengths of the system, the barriers obstructing the evolution of corporate reporting, and possible solutions, the group wants to identify the limitations of the existing corporate reporting model and focus on the barriers to changing it."