9

Management information and transparency

9.1

The PRA considers the provision to the board by executive management of timely, accurate, complete and relevant management information, including the aggregation of exposures across businesses, to be a fundamental component in supporting the board to fulfil its duties and responsibilities. The nature, specific content and frequency of the management information provided to the board and its committees should be actively managed by the chair and non-executives, taking into account their particular needs. The chair and non-executives should also actively guard against the risk that they are provided with such extensive and unwieldy amounts of data which render it unworkable in a practical sense.

9.2

The PRA expects management to be open and transparent with the board to ensure the board is adequately apprised of all significant matters about which the board should be made aware. Management should not simply confine such information to matters formally reserved for the board or falling outside the board’s stated risk appetite, but should raise issues where, for example, the size, nature or impact suggest that disclosure or escalation is appropriate. Non-executives should have unrestricted access to a firm’s employees and information as needed to enable them to carry out their duties.

9.3

As noted above, the board is responsible for the oversight of, but not for managing the business, which is the responsibility of the executives. But the PRA expects executive management to exercise judgement and actively to apprise their boards of key business developments, decisions and activities at an appropriate but early stage. Executives have a responsibility to ensure that their boards are able to exercise their role and are provided with the necessary information and support.