Barclays 2013 Annual Report Download - page 54

Corporate governance report
Dear Shareholders
Last year, in my fi rst report as Chairman, I outlined the important
ways in which Barclays was changing, in terms of its culture and
values, its leadership and its risk management and control
framework. I look back on my fi rst full year as Chairman and can say
with some confi dence that substantial progress has been made in
implementing these necessary changes.
Doing business in the right way
We recognised that to embed cultural change we had to change how
our people behave, including challenging established mindsets and
attitudes. As part of our Transform programme, we have set a simple
goal – to make Barclays the ‘Go-To’ bank for all our stakeholders. We
have defi ned a common purpose to assist us in reaching that goal,
which is to help people achieve their ambitions in the right way. And
we have clearly set out the values – respect, integrity, service,
excellence and stewardship – that we expect everyone in Barclays to
demonstrate in achieving that purpose. To reinforce these values and
drive good behaviours, 2013 saw the launch of The Barclays Way, a
single code of conduct, which is fully endorsed by the Board and
applies across Barclays. It sets out how the values should be put into
practice by each of us in our interactions with Barclays’ colleagues,
customers and clients, governments and regulators, business partners,
suppliers, competitors and the wider community in which we operate.
You can read The Barclays Way on our website at Barclays.com.
To support the achievement of sustainable business performance,
which is vital for the long-term success of Barclays, we have also
introduced a Balanced Scorecard to measure Barclays’ performance.
This sets out a series of measurable fi nancial and non-fi nancial
commitments, covering our 5Cs – Customer & Client, Colleague,
Citizenship, Conduct and Company – so that we, and our stakeholders,
have a clear idea of what success looks like on our journey to becoming
the ‘Go-To’ bank. You can read more about the 5Cs and the Balanced
Scorecard in the Strategic Review.
The right strategy
Key for the Board is ensuring that we have the right strategy, a robust
and appropriate risk management and control framework and the right
people in place to create long-term value for shareholders. Our role as
the Board is to set direction and risk appetite and to provide oversight
and control of management in running the business on a day-to-day
basis. We rely on management for timely and relevant information, to
distil complex and technical material into matters requiring often fi nely
balanced business judgments and to identify the signifi cant issues and
present them to the Board for discussion and decision. One of my roles
as Chairman is to ensure that the Board receives the information it
needs when it needs it, to ensure that there is adequate time set aside
at Board meetings for the open and collective discussion and debate of
signifi cant issues and, once a well-informed decision is reached, to
empower management to then execute that decision with the ongoing
oversight and support of the Board.
I can think of no better examples of this process in action than the
Board’s endorsement of the Transform programme in early 2013 and
the decision we made in July 2013 to undertake a rights issue. Below
you can read about the Board’s role and the intensive oversight to
which both were subject.
The right risks and controls
As a fi nancial institution, it is our business to understand, measure,
manage, price and mitigate risk. Putting it simply, taking risk is what we
do. In doing so, we recognise that we have a responsibility towards
ensuring the safety, soundness and ethical operation of the fi nancial
system and are cognisant of the social impact should we fail in that
regard. It is essential, therefore, that our risk culture supports our risk
profi le and that we have visible and dedicated risk management
leadership, both in the Boardroom and in executive management.
‘Key for the Board is ensuring
that we have the right strategy,
a robust and appropriate
risk management and control
framework and the right
people in place to create long-
term value for shareholders.’
barclays.com/annualreport
52 Barclays PLC Annual Report 2013