The Norwegian Code of Practice for Corporate Governance - Statoil

Changes to the Code of Practice since October 2010The previous printed edition of the Code of Practice was published on 21October 2010.Following a consultation exercise in 2011, NCGB decided to announcecertain minor changes and amendments to the Code of Practice in the formof a separate document dated 21 October 2011. NCGB again carried outa consultation exercise in 2012. The main features of the amendments thathave been made are described in brief below.Changes to the Code of Practice in October 2011The following amendments were made:Section 1 ‘Implementation and reporting on corporate governance’Section 3-3b of the Accounting Act introduced a statutory requirement in2011 for companies to provide a report on their policies and practices forcorporate governance, and includes requirements on how the report must bemade available. Amendments were made to the Code of Practice to bring itinto line with the Accounting Act requirements.Section 8 ‘Corporate assembly and board of directors: composition andindependence’Oslo Børs amended its rules in respect of the independence of the board ofdirectors in February 2011. Amendments were made to the account of theserules in the footnote to Section 8, but the Code of Practice’s requirementsas stipulated in Section 8 are stricter than the revised rules applied by OsloBørs and were not amended.Section 9 ‘The work of the board of directors’A change made to the Stock Exchange Regulations in 2010 extended therequirement for companies to have an audit committee to include certaincompanies other than Norwegian listed public companies. The commentaryand footnotes to Section 9 were amended to reflect these changes.10 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE