The Board Corporate Governance Role

A board corporate governance role requires oversight, insight and foresight. As the business landscape becomes increasingly complex and unpredictable it requires more diligent monitoring and a more informed approach to decision-making by board directors. To ensure the success of a company, it is also necessary to coordinate efforts of all employees.

A well-formed board should include members who have a wide variety of skills and perspectives and are willing to challenge the board’s assumptions and perspectives. This will promote more complete discussions and enhance the effectiveness of the board in general.

As the board’s responsibilities continue to evolve, the board must be prepared to handle new technologies and important issues like diversity and climate-related disclosures that may affect the bottom line of a business. It’s important to create an environment that rewards and encourages ongoing education and discourages self-sufficiency.

The board should set goals and strategies for the short- and long-term and establish mechanisms to monitor progress on those goals. The board also supervises the chief executive officer and determines the guidelines data management: key to M&A success and policies that govern the company’s operations.

It’s the board’s responsibility to determine which risks are acceptable to take and how to manage them while safeguarding shareholder interests. The board should develop risk assessments, develop guidelines for its own actions and those of its manager, and establish accountability systems to help the board fulfill its duty of stewardship.