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GUBERNA / KPMG Directors Handbook
GUBERNA, supported by KPMG, published its
Directors Handbook. The handbook aims to be the
reference handbook for best practices in corporate
governance. The handbook targets the individual
director rather than focusing on overall board
governance, which makes it one-in-a-kind.
The text features a comprehensive overview of
leading practices and guidance related to the
following questions:
– What to do before accepting a board position?
– What to do during the execution of the mandate?
– Why and how to evaluate the mandate?
– How to resign from a board position?
http://www.guberna.be/tools/handboek-voor-de-
bestuurder
Harnessing the power of cognitive technology
to transform the audit
This report takes an in-depth look at how advances
in cognitive intelligence are being adapted to
auditing and how its application can enhance audit
quality through greater coverage, deeper analytics
and broader perspectives on controls, processes
and risks.
The use of computer technology has been a
mainstay in financial statement audits for decades.
However, recent advances in computing power will
have a transformative impact on both how audits
are conducted and the overall financial reporting
landscape.
The application of cognitive technology will
fundamentally affect the way audit information is
used and understood. By significantly increasing the
ability to evaluate larger volumes of both structured
and unstructured data, cognitive technology will
allow our audit teams to dig deeper into financial
information for a more detailed and comprehensive
audit. It will also enable us to sharpen our focus on
higher value audit activities in areas of increased
business risk and reporting complexity.
https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/
us/pdf/2016/11/us-audit-CognitiveFactSheet.
pdf?logActivity=true
© 2017 KPMG Central Services, a Belgian Economic Interest Grouping (“ESV/GIE”) and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International
Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Printed in Belgium.
Are Expectations on Board Members Too High?
Most Directors Think So.
Global Survey of 4000+ directors reveals
common boardroom attitudes and processes
Sixty percent (60%) of directors say that there
is a gap between the expectations placed on
boards and the reality of the board’s ability
to oversee a company, according to the 2016
Global Board of Directors Survey, conducted by
Professor Boris Groysberg and Yo-Jud Cheng of
Harvard Business School, Spencer Stuart, the
WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) Foundation, and
researcher Deborah Bell.
– Disconnect between expectations and reality
around board’s true oversight ability. Of the
60% of directors who see a gap between the
expectations placed on boards and the reality
of the board’s ability to oversee a company,
64% believe expectations moderately exceeded
reality. Strikingly, 25% believed expectations far
exceeded reality.
– Other skills in demand on boards. Behind the
“top 3” of strategy and financial/audit expertise
and specific industry knowledge, directors also
cited risk management and international/global
expertise as most important to board service
today. Areas named least frequently as important
were sales and marketing, and compensation and
succession planning expertise.
– Measuring performance—with consequences.
As greater regulatory requirements have put
board performance under a microscope, many
boards have instituted evaluations as part of their
structure. Indeed, the survey revealed that more
than two-thirds of boards conduct performance
evaluations of directors. One-third of respondents
have served on a board where evaluations were
used to remove a director.
https://wcd.site-ym.com/news/313756/Are-
Expectations-on-Board-Members-Too-High-Most-
Directors-Think-So.htm