The World of the Board

A board of directors’ essential role, whether it serves a publicly listed company, a privately owned firm, or a not-for-profit organization, is to offer leadership and governance to enable an organization to fulfill its objectives and purpose. Board members function as fiduciaries or legal advisors to the organizations, instituting solid ethical and legal governance and financial management procedures. Additionally, they often are responsible for fundraising and advocacy for the organization.

Commonly, boards are made up of non-executive and executive directors, led by the board chairperson. The board is jointly accountable for the company’s performance and governance. It assigns day-to-day operating responsibilities to the CEO. They are aided in their efforts by an executive committee and other committees, including but not limited to the audit committee, risk committee, nominations committee, and remuneration committee. The board should conduct...