House of Lords to examine “confusion” surrounding the Bribery Act
With the House of Lords examining the effectiveness of the Bribery Act, Aziz Rahman of business crime solicitors Rahman Ravelli argues that the Act seems unnecessarily hard on SMEs.
5 steps to stop your scaleup screwing up
Culture is the operating system of every business, so make sure you spend time getting it right before speeding ahead, says Corporate Punk?s Phil Lewis.
Addressing the ethical aspects of company culture
With the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) proposing a significantly increased focus on company culture in its consultation on the Corporate Governance Code, the issue of culture has become something of a hot topic around the board room table.
Sports Direct: The importance of a non-executive director fit
Sports Direct hit the headlines in May after its only female director resigned. It was suggested her voice was no longer being listened to by the board and her effectiveness in the role was being limited.
Navigating corporate governance in a family business
Recent headlines encapsulate the tension between decisions made according to the family business agenda and those obligations which begin on incorporation and intensify with growth. To family firm owners this is an ever evolving scale and begs the question: at what point do the interests of external stakeholders take primacy?
How Sports Direct scored an own goal with a bit of nepotism
Should a FTSE 100 company like Sports Direct grant personal favours from the boardroom to controlling shareholder Mike Ashley?
The importance of the CFO and what CEOs expect from them in the future
Increasingly, the CFO needs to be seen as a leader within the entire organisation. With this in mind, KPMG sought to find out what challenges they faced, including the expectations CEOs placed on them.
Why legislation can be too blunt a tool to tackle the genuine issues of gender diversity
While the share of female employment in large firms has increased dramatically, this hasn't been reflected in the make-up of executive boards.
Businesses taking too much risk with internal audits
Despite internal audits being vital for all businesses, a quarter of firms are failing to conform with international risk assessment standards.
How governance can be simplified and sped up by employing new technologies
Whether you’re an early-stage business builder or established entrepreneur looking to take the business to the next level, governance forms an important part of daily operations – but is something to be done expediently and conclusively by leveraging new techniques. Real Business meets those who have implemented vital time-saving strategies to create a new technology-led way of addressing key factors such as accounting and ordering.
Sport Direct’s Mike Ashley clashes with investors over delay in employing FD
Mike Ashley has garnered a fair amount of disapproval from Sports Direct shareholders. They rejected his share incentive scheme in 2012 due to tax reasons, voted against his £73m bonus package and accused the company of “disregarding” shareholder concerns, not to mention rejected previous proposals due to related performance targets. But it's not the last of Ashley v shareholders – there's a clash going on again.