services: managing and reporting on key issues

aanapier consulting can help companies successfully identify, manage and report on issues that can affect future success and corporate reputation.
The British Government has also been trying [Company Law Reform Bill, section 156 (3)] to make directors "have regard to the interests of customers, employees, suppliers, the community and the environment."

section 156: Duty to promote the success of the company (Company Law Reform Bill, text as of November 2005)
(1) A director of a company must act in the way he considers, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole.

(2) Where or to the extent that the purposes of the company consist of or include purposes other than the benefit of its members, his duty is to act in the way he considers, in good faith, would be most likely to achieve those purposes.

(3) In fulfilling the duty imposed by this section a director must (so far as reasonably practicable) have regard to—

(a) the likely consequences of any decision in the long term,

(b) the interests of the company’s employees,

(c) the need to foster the company’s business relationships with suppliers, customers and others,

(d) the impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment,

(e) the desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct, and

(f) the need to act fairly as between members of the company.

(4) The duty imposed by this section has effect subject to any enactment or rule of law requiring directors, in certain circumstances, to consider or act in the interests of creditors of the company.

extracts from the British Government's Final Regulatory Impact Assessment on the Operating and Financial Review and Directors’ Report Regulations (2005) (since repealed):

"Assets are increasingly intangible. Business observers and analysts generally agree that some of the biggest contributors to business success are those that are the most difficult to quantify: people, customers, knowledge base, brand, and reputation." (para 18e) "The opportunity costs associated with non-disclosure of information are harder to pinpoint, but have been proved to be a contributing factor in the destruction of value through inappropriate corporate behaviour and/or loss of reputation. A separate 2004 paper issued by MORI, The Rise and Rise of Non-Financial Reporting, made this point referring to billion dollar losses incurred by such companies as Texaco, Motorola and Enron as a result of reputational failure." (para 79)
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