5.5.4 Temporary non-compliance

Section 5.4.6 above explains that it is checked by means of content analysis whether the explanations in the corporate governance statements under review state that deviation from the code is temporary or not. Table 5.5.4 below shows the percentage of the code that is not complied with but will be complied with in the near future, according to the companies themselves. For the temporary non-compliance, no distinction is made in the code provisions for the purpose of convergence, nor is the quality of the explanations taken into account. Hence, the temporary non-compliance in table 5.5.4 below involves level of compliance I.a (measured by the number of code provisions the company claims to apply). The companies state directly or indirectly in their explanations that the deviation from the code provision is temporary and that they intend to comply with this provision in the near future but need more time to arrange the implementation. It is expected that these explanations will in the near future change into compliance or become rare, not neglecting possible interim situations in which code compliance is temporarily not possible, for example in the case of the death of an executive or non-executive. Moreover, after several years the explanation that "the company is still working to implement the rule" is not believable and sufficient anymore. As shown below in table 5.5.4, the percentage decreases at first and then levels off (possibly due to the occurring interim situations).