[Last updated: 1 January 2024, unless otherwise noted]

For its securities to be admitted to trading on AIM, a company must state in its Admission Document and on its website the recognized corporate governance code that the board of directors has decided to apply, how the company complies with that code, and where it departs from its chosen corporate governance code, an explanation of the reasons for doing so. The Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) publishes a set of voluntary Corporate Governance Guidelines for Small and Mid-Size Quoted Companies (including AIM companies), the latest of which was published in November 2023 to replace the April 2018 version in respect of accounting periods commencing on or after 1 April 2024 (the QCA Code). The QCA Code includes 10 corporate governance principles that companies should follow, and step-by-step guidance on how to effectively apply these principles. The principles are indirectly based on parts of the UK Corporate Governance Code with which Main Market premium-listed companies are required to comply or explain and justify their reasons for non-compliance.  

The UK Corporate Governance Code consists of principles of good governance, most of which have their own set of more detailed provisions which amplify the principles. The principles deal with the following areas:

• Board Leadership and Company Purpose.
• Division of Responsibilities.
• Composition, Succession and Evaluation.
• Audit, Risk and Internal Control.
• Remuneration.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) (formerly the National Association of Pension Funds) also published a set of Corporate Governance and Voting Guidelines for Smaller Quoted Companies in December 2012, updated in December 2015. These Guidelines are also broadly based on the principles of the UK Corporate Governance Code.