Best practice corporate governance reporting: supplement 2007

In the UK the Combined Code on Corporate Governance (Combined Code) sets out standards of good practice in relation to issues such as board composition and development, remuneration, accountability and audit and relations with shareholders.

The Combined Code contains broad principles and more specific provisions. All companies incorporated in the UK and listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange are required under the Listing Rules to report on how they have applied the Combined Code in their annual report and accounts.

Three years after the Combined Code (2003) came into effect, corporate governance reporting has evolved considerably and companies have extended, in many areas, their corporate governance disclosures beyond the minimum recommendations of the Combined Code (2003). Hence, what currently constitutes good practice disclosure and how different companies report on corporate governance attracts significant interest.

To address the question of what represents good practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers released in January 2007 the publication 'Best practice corporate governance reporting'. Featuring extracts from published corporate governance statements of FTSE 350 companies, the publication provides a repository of good practice disclosure examples, across all sections of the Combined Code (2003). It also provides helpful hints to assist companies in their future reporting, and the tools for companies to benchmark their corporate governance statements.

The publication is intended to supplement 'Best practice corporate governance reporting', published in December 2005, by providing good practice examples from the last reporting season.