Full house at the launch of the new Guidelines on Corporate Governance

More than 180 people attended the launch of the seventh edition of the Guidelines on Corporate Governance, held at Háteigur, Grand Hótel, on 21 October. The guidelines are published by Viðskiptaráð Íslands (the Iceland Chamber of Commerce), Samtök atvinnulífsins (SA, the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise) and Nasdaq Iceland. The new edition was presented in print, and a new website, leidbeiningar.is, was also opened, where the guidelines are available in an interactive web version in Icelandic and English.

The meeting was chaired by Lilja Hrund Lúðvíksdóttir, legal counsel in SA’s policy division, and Bjarni Benediktsson, Director General of SA, gave the opening address.

Simplification rather than new requirements

Lísbet Sigurðardóttir, legal counsel at Viðskiptaráð and project manager for the review, outlined the work behind the new edition and the main changes. The review was carried out by a working group of the publishers chaired by Þóranna Jónsdóttir, with representatives from business and academia. It was based on a survey of members of Viðskiptaráð and SA and of listed companies, as well as a consultation process that generated numerous comments.

The main finding of the consultation was that the guidelines had worked well. Respondents called for simpler and clearer presentation rather than extensive changes to the substance. The working group was therefore guided by three principles: to simplify the guidelines, to update them in line with changes in the legal framework, and to align them with international developments, particularly in the other Nordic countries.

The most significant change is that recommendations are now generally worded with “should” rather than “shall”. Lísbet stressed that the wording alone does not change the weight of the recommendations. A company that states that it follows the guidelines must still comply with individual recommendations or clearly explain any departures from them. The change is intended to underline that boards should take an informed position on their own governance, not to relax requirements.

“Don’t be shy”

Marta Guðrún Blöndal, attorney and board member, gave a talk entitled “Don’t be shy”. She pointed out that the guidelines were created on the initiative of the business community. The flexibility they offer rests on trust, so business needs to show that they work.

As an example, she cited the gender balance in the leadership of Icelandic companies. Women make up 40.9% of board members, where a quota is set by law, but only 21.4% of chief executives, and only one woman chairs the board of a listed company. Marta emphasised that the guidelines should draw on boards’ judgement, not replace it.

Panel discussion

The meeting closed with a panel discussion on what the new guidelines mean in practice. The panellists were Heiðar Guðjónsson, Chairman of Íslandsbanki, Ólafur Sigurðsson, CEO of Birta Pension Fund, Rut Gunnarsdóttir, project manager at KPMG, and Þóranna Jónsdóttir, Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee. Baldur Thorlacius, Head of Listings at Nasdaq Iceland, moderated the discussion.

Viðskiptaráð warmly thanks the speakers, panellists and guests for attending. The new edition takes effect on 1 January 2027.

Birgir Ísleifur took photos at the event, which can be viewed here.