Boards need to discuss the issues and take the decisions that have a bearing on the long-term success of their organisation. Yet research from the Institute and Board Intelligence suggests that in many organisations board packs are a barrier to such discussions, rather than an aid. Too often they are dominated by inward- and backward-looking detail, rather than the sort of information that will help the board to plan its future strategy. Furthermore, the sheer volume of information that board and committee members are presented with makes it unlikely they can read it all, let alone absorb it or pick out the key issues.
In 2018, the Chartered Governance Institute worked with Board Intelligence on a project to understand the main challenges to effective board reporting, in order to identify actions that could be taken to assist organisations to address these challenges. We heard from more than 80 governance professionals representing organisations of all sizes and sectors on how board reporting (i.e. the preparation of reports and other papers that are discussed at board meetings) operated in their organisations.
The Challenges to Effective Board Reporting research identifies the main obstacles to effective board reporting and paves the way to find solutions.