Risk Oversight

In this edition: board engagement in strategy, highlights from our Board Leadership conference, voting in proxy fights, and more.

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Directors Quarterly: April 2019

In this edition: board engagement in strategy, highlights from our Board Leadership conference, voting in proxy fights, and more.

Facilitating the board’s engagement in strategy

Lead directors are uniquely positioned to create the right level of engagement and facilitate quality boardroom discussions on strategy.

Prepared to weather a potential economic downturn (or recession)?

In the current environment, boards will want to frame their agendas to help ensure their companies are prepared for a potential economic downturn—possibly a severe one. Dennis Whalen, leader of the KPMG Board Leadership, offers key areas of focus for boards to consider.

2019 Economic outlook

Highlights from our January Webcast discussion with Leo Abruzzese, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Director of Public Policy.

Leading with agility and purpose

Insights and highlights from the 2019 KPMG Board Leadership Conference, including the economic and geopolitical outlook; the CEO perspective; board engagement in strategy; technology, digital disruption, data risk, and privacy; long-term performance; shareholder versus stakeholder primacy; talent, diversity, culture, the workforce of the future; and hot topics for board committees.

Eurasia Group’s top geopolitical risks for 2019

The top geopolitical risks for 2019, according to Eurasia Group, include the sowing of “bad seeds” for the future, the ongoing trade showdown between China and the United States, an increasingly challenging cyber battle, European populism, and several country-specific developments.

The ESG journey: Lessons from the boardroom and C-suite

To build on our work in ESG, strategy and the long view, the Board Leadership Center interviewed directors and officers of major corporations, including Morgan Stanley, Tyson Foods, Ford Motor, Microsoft, Mars, and Whirlpool, among others.

Directors Quarterly: January 2019

A look at critical issues for board agendas, areas for audit committee focus, insights on integrating environmental, social, and governance issues into strategy, and more.

Navigating disruptive risk

Dedicating time to think about the future is vital to navigating disruptive risks.

On the 2019 board agenda

Seven items for boards to consider as they focus their 2019 agendas on the critical challenges at hand and on the road ahead.

On the 2019 audit committee agenda

Seven items for audit committees to keep in mind as they consider and carry out their 2019 agendas.

On the 2019 nom/gov agenda

Expectations for greater transparency about the board’s efforts to continually raise its game and help position the company for the future are putting the nom/gov committee squarely in the spotlight. Here are six items for nom/gov committees to consider as they focus their 2019 agendas.

Leveraging internal audit

Many boards and audit committees are turning to internal audit to help them better understand and assess the company’s culture.

Connecting geopolitics, markets, and strategy

Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group, shared his views on how boards should evaluate geopolitical risks and their impact on the business.

Directors Quarterly: October 2018

In this edition, we looked at trends in board leadership, two emerging areas of focus for lead directors, how young and growing companies may benefit from using a matrix for board building, and more.

Sharpening risk oversight in the #MeToo era

The audit committee should add a #MeToo lens to its role in assisting the board in monitoring compliance.

Board oversight of corporate culture

Highlights and takeaways from KPMG’s Director Roundtable Series, which explored how boards can take a more proactive approach to understanding, shaping, and assessing corporate culture.

Lessons from the 2018 proxy season

Observations of the current climate for shareholder engagement, proxy voting and disclosure trends, shifts in board composition, and institutional shareholder concerns.

Data rich and regulation wary

Consumer data is a valuable asset for most organizations looking to extend their customer reach and competitive advantage

What boards can expect as iGen joins the workforce

Just when boards and management think they have finally figured out how to accommodate millennials as employees and customers, along comes iGen to reverse many millennial trends.

Directors Quarterly: July 2018

The July 2018 edition of Directors Quarterly.

Gauging corporate culture

The #MeToo movement and headlines announcing sexual harassment scandals and allegations have rightly put the topic of corporate culture front and center in the boardroom.

Getting ahead of sexual harassment risk

Discussion about board oversight of sexual harassment issues often comes up only after public allegations have thrown the company into crisis.

Making sense of A Sense of Purpose

As head of the world’s largest asset manager, Fink made clear BlackRock’s expectation for a new model of shareholder engagement, “that strengthens and deepens communication between shareholders and the companies that they own.”

Board’s-eye view of data and analytics

Given their oversight roles, how can boards and audit committees help ensure that the company is getting the appropriate insights from data and analytics while taking the necessary precautions to protect the company, its employees, customers, and others?

Directors Quarterly: April 2018

The April 2018 edition of our quarterly publication for corporate directors.

SEC cybersecurity guidance: Takeaways for boards

Amid increasing cyber threats and recent massive breaches, the SEC issued interpretive guidance on cybersecurity disclosures that applies to public companies registered with the Commission

Navigating uncertainty: The long view

It’s clear that, as the business and risk environment becomes more complex, the board’s ability to prioritize and devote enough time to substantive issues becomes more challenging

2018 global economic outlook

Wavering U.S. policy could dampen existing trade relationships and sour some reliable partners. Directors and executives who tuned in the for the Webcast appeared to agree with his observation

On the 2018 investor agenda

Reflecting on the events of 2017 and recent conversations with members of the institutional investor community, several high-level themes related to board operations and board leadership on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are likely to be top of mind for investors this year.

Connecting the dots: Cybersecurity in the boardroom

The ongoing threat of cyber attacks has put cyber risk near the top of board and audit committee agendas.

Directors Quarterly: January 2018

In this edition of Directors Quarterly, we highlight the key considerations for boards helping to guide their companies forward in the year ahead.

Eurasia group’s top geopolitical risks for 2018

This year’s list is impacted by an acceleration of declining U.S. influence in the world and “concerns about the prospects of a geopolitical depression

The new mindset in cyber security: The board lens

Has the cyber risk and security conversation in the boardroom kept pace with the business? Better yet, does the board have the assurance that operations, technology, and risk management are communicating on cyber expectations and priorities?

On the 2018 board agenda

Drawing on insights from our work and interactions with directors and business leaders over the past 12 months, we’ve highlighted six items for boards consider in their 2018 agendas—on the critical challenges at-hand and on the road ahead.

Connecting geopolitics, markets, and strategy

Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer shared his insight on geopolitics and business on our KPMG/NACD Quarterly Webcast.

Directors quarterly: October 2017

Talking talent and disruption in the motor city

The roundtable focused on the implications of automation for the board and audit committee; the promise and potential threat of artificial intelligence; and how government, business, and educators must work as one to reskill workers.

Expediting the CEO assessment

Given the expected five- to seven-year holding period for portfolio companies, boards may be able to avoid having to make a switch in two years by being more proactive in assessing the CEO early in the ownership period.

ESG, strategy, and the long view

From our perspective, many of these issues fall under the broad rubric of environmental, social, and governance (ESG), from climate change impacts and worker safety to workplace diversity, executive compensation, and board composition.

Boards assess impact of Trump administration agenda

The KPMG Board Leadership Center Spring Director Roundtable Series gathered insights from nearly 600 directors and senior executives across 16 cities.

Directors quarterly: July 2017

This edition of Directors Quarterly includes highlights from our Spring Roundtable series on the board’s role in oversight of culture, highlights from our recent CEO survey, and a financial reporting and auditing update, as well as thoughts on dual-class shares and decision-making in the boardroom.

Building a foundation for growth: Governance in investor-owned private companies

In collaboration with the KPMG Board Leadership Center, the National Association of Corporate Directors has produced Building a Foundation for Growth: Governance in Investor-Owned Private Companies.

Executive pay issues trending in the boardroom

Shareholders, regulators, and the media have a laser-like focus on CEO compensation packages. In this environment, it’s important that boards understand the issues that are at the center of the compensation debate.

Climate competence in the boardroom

Investors are concentrating on what companies are doing—and disclosing—about the potential impact of climate-related risks on business models and operations, leading to calls for climate-competent boards.

Is internal audit properly focused and fully utilized?

Internal audit is no longer limited to financial reporting and compliance risks.

Investors get serious about ESG's link to long-term corporate performance

How a company manages environmental and social issues—and connects these activities with strategy—are important signals to investors of how well the company is run and its long-term financial sustainability.

Blockchain: Where the board should start

The potential impact of blockchain—on how business transactions and legal contracts are executed and recorded, IP/data protection and privacy, fraud prevention, voting, auditing, and more—is so fundamental and wide-reaching that observers and early adopters are comparing the current blockchain ecosystem to the early days of the Internet

Directors quarterly: April 2017

Highlights from our annual conference, taking a fresh look at climate risk and diversity, blockchain technology from a board perspective, and recent financial reporting and auditing developments.

How risk oversight boosts fast-growing companies

Risk oversight at rapidly growing, privately held companies is both an art and a science.

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Risk Oversight

Directors Quarterly: April 2019

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