Last May, Consob published Legal Notebook No. 23 entitled “Technological Developments in Corporate Law” edited by M. Bianchini, G. Gasparri, G. Resta, G. Trovatore and A. Zoppini. The work, which addresses the theme of the introduction and development of digital technologies in the organizational structures and governance mechanisms of listed companies, opens with a general presentation of the digital transition of enterprises.
The second chapter, titled “Digitalization of Financial Information under the ESEF Regulation and Prospects for Unified and Common Access Thereto”, addresses the theme of technical developments related to the access and management of financial information by listed issuers, focusing on the impact of such innovations on the current model of corporate information. The analysis, also in light of the adoption of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/815 of 17 December 2018 concerning the reporting obligations of annual financial reports, assumes particular value from both a technical and legal perspective.
The third chapter, titled “The Use of ICT in the Shareholders’ Meeting Proceedings of Listed Companies”, analyzes the current issue related to the “virtual” conduct of shareholders’ meetings of listed companies. This examination, which is prompted by the sudden acceleration in the use of digitalization systems to address the recent health crisis, analyzes the emergency regulations, questioning the application issues and possible regulatory developments.
The fourth chapter, concerning “digital transformation in the system of internal controls and risk management”, is dedicated to the possibility of applying distributed ledger technologies to the system of internal controls and management of corporate risk and analyzes the possible developments that could derive therefrom. With the implementation of such technologies, the correctness and transparency of corporate management could indeed be ensured with lower costs and greater results.
In conclusion, the final chapter of the work, titled “The Interference of Digitalization in Governance Processes with the Personal Data Protection Regime”, explores the theme of personal data protection in light of the increased use of digital mechanisms within the organizational models of companies. The analysis traces the critical issues related to the necessary balance between digital evolution in the corporate sphere and the transparency limitations imposed by personal data protection regulations.