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First-year reporting deadlines under Provision 29 are approaching, bringing a new board-level declaration on the effectiveness of material controls. In this article, Grant Thornton explores how to embed new governance arrangements that will withstand heightened scrutiny and external challenge.
The insight sets out what Provision 29 of the UK Corporate Governance Code actually demands of boards — and why 2026 marks a genuine step change. While many companies made early progress through mapping controls and refreshing documentation, the difference this year is that boards are now expected to stand behind a formal effectiveness conclusion. With 45% of companies only partially meeting the spirit of Provision 29 to date, the gap between preparation and declaration has never been more exposed.
Discussions include:
- What Provision 29 requires — a recap of the board's obligations, from monitoring risk management frameworks throughout the year to declaring whether material controls have operated effectively at the balance sheet date.
- Why 2026 is different — an explanation of the three fundamental shifts boards must now make: taking ownership of the effectiveness conclusion, moving to risk-based scoping of material controls, and building a coherent assurance model that genuinely supports the declaration.
- Key priorities for the rest of 2026 — practical guidance on clarifying accountability across the three lines of defence, stress-testing scoping decisions, maturing control documentation, and embedding monitoring and reporting as business-as-usual rather than an annual exercise.
- Using Provision 29 as a catalyst — why the organisations getting the most value are those treating this not as a compliance milestone, but as an opportunity to strengthen governance and future-proof their risk management frameworks.
Learn More:
Read the full article here for a practical guide to what boards should be asking.