As many companies continue to pivot quickly in response to unanticipated events that unfolded due to the pandemic, board agendas are becoming more complex by the day. The recently released second issue of Board Practices Quarterly – conducted by Deloitte in collaboration with the Society for Corporate Governance – provides an extensive look at some of the key areas and trends that are expected to be on the boards’ agendas in 2021. This quarter, the survey explores two specific topics in detail, pandemic response and recovery and human capital management, to obtain greater insight on shareholder engagement, meeting agendas, and disclosures.
Key findings include:
- Topics on full board meeting agendas: 84 percent of public company boards address matters pertaining to the pandemic at every board meeting; private companies address such matters quarterly, at 67 percent.
- Pandemic response and recovery and oversight: 96 percent of public company respondents said the full board oversees pandemic response and recovery. At least 70 percent of private companies said the full board has oversight.
- Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI): Across public and private companies, board oversight of DEI is primarily with the full board (59 percent).
- Anticipated level of company’s disclosure: Nearly 80 percent of public companies said they plan to increase disclosure pertaining to human capital management. More than two-thirds of private companies said they will make no change to their level of disclosure.
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