Roadmap for Directors in 2024

Ben McLaughlin is a senior partner with Baker McKenzie, advising on mergers & acquisitions in healthcare & life sciences. He has just been awarded Lawyer of the Year, Life Sciences, Sydney, for 2024. Ben has extensive experience in advising Boards on corporate governance issues.

Elizabeth Lane is a corporate lawyer with extensive experience in corporate law and corporate governance matters and she has acted on numerous private equity and M&A transactions. Elizabeth is the Senior Legal Writer at LexisNexis for Practical Guidance Corporations.

It has never been a more dynamic time to be a director. Amidst a challenging landscape where stakeholder expectations and regulatory priorities are evolving at lightening speed, directors must know where they stand on key corporate governance issues as they face a volatile geopolitical and economic climate.

The Legal Talk podcast ‘Roadmap for Directors in 2024 covers an extensive range of critical priorities for Directors in 2024. Our presenters examine the challenges and opportunities for directors as they navigate the evolving corporate governance landscape in 2024. They will be sharing a roadmap to help directors overcome the hurdles that lie ahead.

Roadmap for Directors in 2024 – Part 1

In Part 1, our speakers explore how directors can effectively manage their continuous disclosure obligations, comply with ESG issues*, ensure their boards are cyber-fit, and adjust to the impact of Generative AI on business.

Please refer to the Treasury’s policy position statement here for further details.

Addendum to ESG & Mandatory Climate Reporting

On 27^th March 2024, the mandatory climate reporting regime was introduced into the House of Representatives as the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (Bill). The Bill was introduced following consultation on an exposure draft of the Bill.

Under the Bill, the reporting requirements apply to Group 1 entities (being the largest reporting entities as they can satisfy at least two of three criteria: >$500 million revenue or $1 billion gross assets or > 500 employees) in respect of financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025 (this date was originally 1 July 2024 under the exposure draft). This extension means that Group 1 entities with 30 June and 30 September financial year ends are being given some breathing room as they will not be required to prepare their first sustainability report until 12 months after the date which was originally proposed.

The detailed content relating to the climate disclosure requirements proposed under the Bill will be set out in new accounting standards being developed by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). The AASB has released consultation drafts of the standards and submissions closed on 1 March 2024.

Roadmap for Directors in 2024 – Part 2

During part 2 of the podcast, our speakers discuss fundamental corporate governance issues such as the Directors and Officers insurance market, litigation funding, how to balance corporate governance tasks while focusing on the big picture, and the highs and lows of non-executive director appointments.