Article by Francis Kean
The Higgs Review: a very cautious welcome due from D&O Insurers?
"I do not presume a "one size fits all" approach to [corporate] governance is appropriate. … The Review is not a blueprint for box-tickers, but a counsel of best practice that can be intelligently implemented with discretion."
On 20 January 2003, Derek Higgs published his report on the role and effectiveness of non-executive directors (NEDs), commissioned by the Government in April 2002. This coincided with publication of the report of Sir Robert Smith’s group on audit committees, the recommendations of which also emphasise a key role for NEDs, and which are expressly incorporated into Higgs’ recommendations. Those recommendations take the form of a proposed revised Combined Code, which Higgs invited the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to implement for reporting years starting on or after 1 July 2003. The FRC has now indicated that, following the usual consultation process, it intends to
