The French institute of directors, the IFA, held its International Committee Meeting at its offices in Paris on 10 December, attended by senior figures from the business, financial and regulatory sectors of France and other European countries. Dr Chris Pierce was guest speaker and made a presentation on “Corporate Governance Practices in the European Union: trends and perspectives”. His presentation made reference to the recent IFC/Ecoda report “A guide to corporate governance practices in European Union” which he co-authored.