Protiviti is pleased to publish its inaugural Global Board Governance Survey. This study — developed by Protiviti, BoardProspects and Broadridge — is, we believe, the first of its kind. It offers insights regarding the board’s priorities, performance and governance practices from the different perspectives of more than 1,000 directors and C-suite leaders. Strategic planning and execution rates as the top board priority. Risk management oversight, CEO and management succession planning, digital transformation, and the integration of emerging technologies and R&D/innovation are other top priorities. 

For every risk to their company’s growth prospects, directors rate the board’s level of preparedness to address it to be higher than C-suite executives do. The divergence is most pronounced for risks related to talent management, organizational culture and third-party risk. Board members and C-suite executives are least confident of their organization’s capabilities related to mitigating risks from nonlinear, disruptive events stemming from bleeding-edge innovation, political uncertainty, new and emerging technologies, and geopolitical tensions and potential conflicts.  

Key findings include:  

• Address underperforming directors. Our survey noted that only 58% of directors and 36% of C-suite leaders agree that board members falling short of expectations are addressed constructively, suggesting a need for improvement in evaluating or offboarding underperforming directors.
• Address obstacles to organizational growth. According to our survey, the five most important obstacles to organizational growth over the next three years are recruiting, retaining and skilling talent; access to capital and/or liquidity; new and emerging technologies; economic uncertainty around central bank monetary policy, inflation and rising labor costs; and rapid change from disruptive innovation. 
• Sharpen focus on crisis management. Our survey suggests a need for a stronger board focus on crisis management. As the coming year unfolds, new and existing geopolitical, economic, environmental, social and cyber-related crises could arise and/or conflagrate. In addition, the results of national elections occurring all over the world during 2024 can lead to disruptive impacts extending beyond the voting countries’ borders, with particular emphasis on the United States.
• Don’t forget cybersecurity issues. One more area identified by our survey requiring additional board time and attention is cybersecurity. The ever-changing cyber threat landscape and growing geopolitical tensions are likely the reasons for this finding.