It's the time of year
- just pre-holiday season - when we normally expect to see a flurry of papers
and consultations being issued by government to keep us occupied over the
summer. This year is no exception and the last week has seen a bulging inbox.
To name but a few BIS has issued a call for views on its Corporate Responsibility
paper, and produced a discussion paper entitled 'Transparency & Trust', and
the Insolvency Service has published the report from Elaine Kempson's review into
Insolvency Practitioner Fees, the
terms of reference for the long-heralded review into Pre-pack Administrations,
and its Annual Report for 2012-13.
The Institute will of course be considering these and submitting responses in
due course but, having spent several hours over the last few days scanning the
contents of papers, the longest of which is 89 pages, I do have a few initial
thoughts.
The BIS Corporate Responsibility paper is looking primarily at what has more
traditionally been called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It seeks to
define exactly what CSR is and how it can be encouraged, developed and reported
on. One section looks at supply chain management
and I hope one of the issues identified is that of prompt payment and treating suppliers fairly. Given the impact of late payment on suppliers and, as a consequence, the wider economy this seems a very obvious way for businesses to be seen as acting responsibly. Conversely, making life difficult for suppliers and deliberately exploiting them is nothing short of irresponsible.
The BIS Transparency and Trust discussion paper (or perhaps tome is a better descriptor!) covers a broad range of issues focusing on two primary themes: enhancing the transparency of UK company ownership, and increasing trust in UK business. The latter theme embraces a number of specific areas but includes insolvency through suggested changes to the disqualification of directors regime and the introduction of financial redress for creditors where directors have acted fraudulently or recklessly. I'm also encouraged by the suggestion of education for directors. I've had a long-held view that the ability for people to gain the privilege of limited liability without putting up any capital nor having to demonstrate any understanding of their responsibilities and obligations is unhelpful and leads to wide-ranging issues. The ICM's press release welcoming the discussion can be found here: http://www.icm.org.uk/statement-following-publication-of- transparency-and-trust/
The Transparency & Trust paper which can be found here also refers to the imminent review of pre-packs and the report from the Review into Insolvency Practitioner Fees and we'll await the Insolvency Service's response in due course with interest.
and I hope one of the issues identified is that of prompt payment and treating suppliers fairly. Given the impact of late payment on suppliers and, as a consequence, the wider economy this seems a very obvious way for businesses to be seen as acting responsibly. Conversely, making life difficult for suppliers and deliberately exploiting them is nothing short of irresponsible.
The BIS Transparency and Trust discussion paper (or perhaps tome is a better descriptor!) covers a broad range of issues focusing on two primary themes: enhancing the transparency of UK company ownership, and increasing trust in UK business. The latter theme embraces a number of specific areas but includes insolvency through suggested changes to the disqualification of directors regime and the introduction of financial redress for creditors where directors have acted fraudulently or recklessly. I'm also encouraged by the suggestion of education for directors. I've had a long-held view that the ability for people to gain the privilege of limited liability without putting up any capital nor having to demonstrate any understanding of their responsibilities and obligations is unhelpful and leads to wide-ranging issues. The ICM's press release welcoming the discussion can be found here: http://www.icm.org.uk/statement-following-publication-of- transparency-and-trust/
The Transparency & Trust paper which can be found here also refers to the imminent review of pre-packs and the report from the Review into Insolvency Practitioner Fees and we'll await the Insolvency Service's response in due course with interest.
I'm encouraged that the government is looking at these areas. The provision of
credit across all sectors always involves trust so the title of this paper,
'Transparency & Trust', puts it squarely in our space and I look forward to
hearing the views of ICM members when we go out for their
input and views shortly.
input and views shortly.
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