Trust in organisations

The BEIS whitepaper is right to look at what classifies as a public interest entity. But its suggestions could stretch the capacity of the audit market to breaking point.

Ahead of an appearance at ICAEW’s Virtually Live conference, Sir Jon Thompson, CEO of the Financial Reporting Council, answers questions on the UK’s proposals for governance and audit reform.

Save the Children UK has transformed its reputation over the past three years. The charity’s senior accountability manager, Laura-Louise Fairley, explains the changes and improvements they put in place to turn around its negative image.

In the future, chartered accountants will have an increasingly vital role to play in ensuring that societies across the world have access to reliable, fact-based information.

In parts of Africa, the accountancy profession is already taking the lead on improving transparency and the trustworthiness of information.

Paul Latham, Director of Communications and Policy at the Charity Commission, tells ICAEW Insights that increasing trust in the sector is a key driver for the organisation that regulates around 170,000 charities.

David Matthews, outgoing ICAEW President, says the need for trustworthy information is only increasing.

Reforms to restore trust in audit and corporate governance are primarily aimed at the private sector, but there is a potential that some public sector organisations might come within the scope of the proposals.

Local authorities need to invest in effective communications to retain the trust and confidence of the public – or face the consequences.

With trust in audit and corporate governance at the top of the profession’s agenda, ICAEW asked two HMRC accountants – one advisory and the other forensic – about their roles and the trust debate.

The Global accountancy trust survey, conducted by Edelman DXI has long been the go-to source of data about trust. The 2021 Trust Barometer puts trust in business out in front, above government, media and NGOs – but only just.

Leadership and collaboration expert Heidi Gardner, a distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and former assistant professor at Harvard Business School, shares why trust is crucial within the workplace.

IFR4NPO is an initiative to develop global financial reporting guidance for non-profit organisations. It is spearheaded by Humentum and CIPFA to heighten transparency and enhance trust.

The Internal Controls over Financial Reporting assessment and attestation requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley are relevant for any company with securities listed in the US, including many large UK companies.

Finance director of quirky UK premium chocolate brand Montezuma’s, Carl Moore, speaks about how gaining the trust of your customers is important and what they value most.

Radical reforms proposed by the UK Government could see thousands more companies brought under new, more stringent, audit and corporate reporting rules previously aimed at the UK’s largest businesses.

When it comes to business, the issue of human rights is no longer someone else’s problem. That’s certainly the view of Sara Brennan, Positive Business Director at Pentland Brands.

This chart reflects ARGA’s significant new powers and the expanded director and auditor duties being proposed in the BEIS White Paper.

This chart shows at a glance the main areas the White Paper addresses, from establishing ARGA to improving the reliability of audits.

During periods of uncertainty, when teams look to their leadership for direction, authenticity is key.

The reputation of the charity sector is at risk: in order to restore lost faith and regain the trust of individuals and communities, the sector will need to communicate and engage with its supporters in new and innovative ways.

With working patterns likely to be permanently affected by the pandemic, many employers are facing a change in the way people value work and their expectations of how they will be managed.

As the recent Post Office Horizon saga has demonstrated, there is a need to strike a considered balance between blind faith in technology and a lack of faith in IT.

Corporate culture is often forgotten in the rush to determine internal rules. If we are to understand the big questions around trust in business, shouldn’t culture metrics be in place?

Chartered accountants have an opportunity to respond to the package of reforms relating to fraud, as recommended by the Brydon Review. What do you think of the government’s proposals?

Existing rules around viability reporting are not achieving what they need to. The government has proposed a new annual resilience statement by public interest entities to fix the problem.

A sustainable future requires businesses to maximise more than profits and governments to look beyond rising GDP. Chartered accountants must understand their unique role in making this happen, argues Peter Bakker, CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

One of the central planks of the Sarbanes-Oxley regime in the US is that directors will go to prison if they fall short. If a version is implemented in the UK and there is no such penalty in scope, how will the regime work?

Ed Humpherson holds the UK government to account for the data that it publishes. He argues that chartered accountants have a key role to play in helping organisations and the public navigate the new information landscape.

Tracy Staines, Inspector General at The Global Fund, has built on her core accountancy skills to ensure huge amounts of money are spent appropriately where they’re needed most.

The Netherlands accountancy and audit profession faced a public backlash after high profile failures. Through collaboration and iterative improvements, it has steadily restored trust.

What steps can and should audit committees, audit regulators, investors and auditors in the UK take now to improve audit quality?

ICAEW has set out key recommendations for developing a meaningful Audit and Assurance Policy that helps better inform their stakeholders.