Please ensure you have read the special statement about the future of the Governance Code, as published by the Governance Code Working Group in February 2021 and May 2019, prior to reading on further.
Stewardship Guidelines
These Guidelines are designed to provide stakeholders of any given organisation with the tools to assess and award ratings to a Board’s declaration of compliance with the Code and the veracity of their explanations for divergence from its recommended practices. The Guidelines are designed to assess Type C organisations as they are the most likely to attract stewardship reviews.
If stewards are required to assess Type A or Type B organisations, we recommend that they be supportive and primarily focus on advising organisations on areas with potential for improvement.
As for Type C organisations, we would encourage stewards to be challenging in their engagement with boards as the stakeholders they represent will, in turn, primarily rely on the steward’s objective assurances to justify their trust and confidence in the organisation.
If stewards are required to assess Type A or Type B organisations, we recommend that they be supportive and primarily focus on advising organisations on areas with potential for improvement.
As for Type C organisations, we would encourage stewards to be challenging in their engagement with boards as the stakeholders they represent will, in turn, primarily rely on the steward’s objective assurances to justify their trust and confidence in the organisation.