LawDeb at the General Counsel and Compliance Strategy Forum

Last month, Paul Tenconi, Senior Corporate Secretarial Manager from our Corporate Secretarial Services business and Chancelle Annetts, Enterprise Business Development Manager at Safecall, our global whistleblowing and investigations business, attended and spoke at the General Counsel and Compliance Strategy Forum. Here, Paul shares a few words on his takes at the conference and what firms should be looking at to get ahead of their corporate governance:

"Chancelle and I had the pleasure of attending the General Counsel and Compliance Strategy Forum on 19 and 20 March. As well as attending several sessions on the key challenges facing Legal and Compliance teams, we also had the opportunity to have a number of face‑to‑face discussions with representatives from a wide range of companies and sectors. It was fascinating to hear from those working in the energy, aviation, telecommunications, health, financial services and banking and building society sectors (amongst others) about the main issues facing their businesses.

Having the opportunity for these extended conversations is always so valuable.

It was clear that many Legal and Compliance teams are managing multiple risks in a world increasingly shaped by rapid technological change alongside political volatility. Against this backdrop, it is becoming ever more important for organisations to ensure they have robust governance frameworks and clear processes to enable Boards to have effective oversight of all aspects of the business, including culture, conduct and organisational risk. Being able to horizon scan (both in the UK and globally) in a cost‑effective way, and translate that insight into practical action across governance, policy and culture, was a key theme arising from many of the sessions. This is an area where both the LawDeb Corporate Secretarial Services and Safecall teams can support clients, through a combination of governance expertise, insight and independent reporting and assurance mechanisms.

We also led a fireside chat with Susannah Rose‑Innes, General Counsel at Cynergy Bank, exploring how culture and governance are increasingly shaping legal outcomes in the workplace, and how issues raised internally can often provide early insight into risk. By looking at key changes brought about by both the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) and the Employment Rights Act 2025, we discussed how businesses can respond to these developments in a practical way, including through effective Board oversight supported by clear escalation, reporting and investigation frameworks. Companies may wish to reflect on whether their Boards are well positioned to respond to an increasingly complex legal and regulatory landscape, and whether their Board and Committee structures, and the information they receive, give them real confidence in how the organisation operates in practice. One way of assessing this is through a Board Effectiveness Review, which LawDeb can help clients to deliver.

Many organisations are grappling with the implications of the Employment Rights Act, in particular the need to build defensible, well‑documented frameworks that protect both the organisation and their people, from policy and training through to reporting, response and investigation. Ensuring that robust whistleblowing arrangements are in place, and that they are trusted and used in practice, will be of paramount importance. Alongside this, there is a critical need to ensure teams are suitably trained, with a range of options available to support organisations in embedding understanding and confidence at all levels.

Similarly, in response to ECCTA, Boards will need to consider how they can demonstrate that reasonable prevention procedures are in place to meet the new failure to prevent fraud offence. This includes ensuring there are effective reporting routes and insight to help identify emerging risks early. Boards will need to scrutinise and challenge their management teams to be confident that these arrangements are genuinely fit for purpose, alongside meeting new requirements such as director identity verification.

Overall, the conference reinforced how good governance, strong culture and effective speak‑up arrangements are even more important in a time of constant change and uncertainty. Having partners like LawDeb and Safecall, with our ability to support Boards and executive teams through high‑quality governance, whistleblowing and culture assurance services, can provide confidence that organisations are well placed to face the future with optimism."

To find out more about LawDeb's Corporate Secretarial Services offering or Safecall, please contact suzy.walls@lawdeb.com.