Corporate Governance
The Board is committed to high standards of corporate governance.
Combined Code
Following the publication of the new Combined Code (the New Code) on Corporate Governance and guidance on audit committees (the Smith Guidance), the Board has reviewed its corporate governance procedures and is making changes as appropriate.
The New Code applies to accounting periods beginning on or after 1st November 2003. SSL has reported under the New Code since the financial year to 31st March 2005, although some additional disclosures have already been made in the 2004 annual report.
The Board
The Board consists of a Non-Executive Chairman, three other Non-Executive Directors and three Executive Directors.
There is clear division of responsibility between the Chairman who leads the Board and the Chief Executive who is responsible for the business operation. All the Non-Executive Directors are considered to be independent of management and bring objective judgment to Board strategy and decisions.
Board Committees
The Board has established three committees, Remuneration, Audit and Nomination Committees. The terms of reference for each committee is below:
Internal Control
The Board is responsible for the Company’s system of internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness.
The Board reviews the effectiveness of the system of internal control at least annually, and is confident that it complies fully with the Internal Control: Guidance for Directors on the Combined Code (the Turnbull Report). The effectiveness of this process has been reviewed by the Audit Committee.
Relations with Shareholders
The Company has a programme of communication with shareholders, including regular meetings with, and presentations to, institutional shareholders, fund managers and analysts. Share price information, copies of annual reports, press releases and analysts presentations are available on this website (see Investor Centre). The AGM provides an opportunity for shareholders to raise questions with the Board.