CG News update Vol.4

Avoid Three D&I Pitfalls By Strengthening the Board’s Agenda
April 4, 2019 By Michael Griffin

Boards are increasingly beginning to recognize diversity and inclusion (D&I) as an important agenda item. Why? D&I is a field of practice that requires board oversight as management teams expand D&I programs and investors make gender and racial equity concerns a major engagement priority. These conversations can present a unique challenge for boards that are often comprised of leaders who lack D&I expertise themselves and struggle to make their own composition more diverse.

To keep pace, corporate directors need to understand how the D&I conversation is evolving and how to avoid key pitfalls in providing effective oversight.  (More details click)

How to Get First-Time Audit Committee Members Up to Speed
April 16, 2019 By Paula Loop

Here’s a trivia question for you: Which of the following areas does the audit committee typically oversee? 
• a.) Fraud
• b.) Financial statements
• c.) Data privacy
• d.) Whistleblower policies
• e.) Third-party risk
• f.) All of the above
• g.) None of the above

The correct answer, all of the above, won’t surprise anyone who’s served on an audit committee. They know they meet more often than other committees (an average of nine times a year) and their meetings are typically longer than those of other committees. But for those new to the board, realizing the full extent of what the audit committee is responsible for can be an eye opener.   (More details click)

Sustainability Reporting: Why Boards Should Care
April 2, 2019 By Jim DeLoach

A recent survey of more than 500 public company directors noted that although environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are currently a relatively low priority for many boards, most directors would like their boards to become more proactive and enhance ESG oversight. Specifically, 53.6 percent would like their board to improve its understanding of the company’s current levels of ESG-related performance, and 49.8 percent would like to ensure ESG issues are strongly linked to the company’s strategy. This growing interest is likely due to increased shareholder activism evidenced by high-profile proxy battles over ESG-related topics and institutional investors proactively assessing ESG performance of companies in their portfolios.

We often hear the assertion that corporate leadership is needed to enhance civilization’s ability to address a litany of critical social concerns. More often executives are called on to address environmental, economic, and social challenges, and enable the general welfare of present and future generations. While this may be a vague assertion to some, the reality of ESG criteria is that the concept offers powerful differentiators for screening investments and grounds the discussion in ways that can’t be ignored in boardrooms and C-suites.  (More details click)
 

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