Link: Nicholson takes doomed Foundation chair
The group, which has yet to receive an official name, will provide the framework around which the rest of the council will be built. It consists of five chairmen from the individual bodies that will be incorporated into the new FRC and another three members of the council who will act in a non-executive capacity.
Although this format has yet to be approved by the council, the group has already met informally to lay the groundwork for the super-regulator.
‘The original FRC had around 30 people and when it was just the FRRP and the ASB you didn’t have to make so many formal arrangements,’ said Nicholson. ‘The council size is now too large to operate on such an ad-hoc basis and this group will make sure we’re all moving in the right direction.’
The aims and objectives of the new combined body are to be put to the current council on 14 May for approval, with Nicholson hopeful they will be supportive of the ‘general thrust’ of the proposals.
Nicholson also said the combined code on corporate governance may not be ready for the government’s deadline of 1 July due to the extensive consultation process that has been undertaken on the Higgs report. He said that the process would be done ‘as fast as is possible’, giving a rough deadline of ‘before the summer holidays’.
Nicholson also added there may be significant changes to the wording of the code ‘without undermining the substance’ of what was recommended in the report.