UNPRECEDENTED INFORMATION VOLUMES and THE RISE OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS is bringing the REVOLUTION IN THE BOARDROOM
Boards of directors are under huge oversight and stakeholder scrutiny and are now operating in a heavily regulated environment. The focus on Governance, Risk Management, Compliance and IT Security results in unprecedented volumes of data and information -which the board of directors have to process, understand and analyse under tight deadlines, in order to give good advice to management or make critical business decisions.
In order to avoid criticism after the fact, the board must further document the access and review of all the relevant (and most recent) information and the basis of those decisions as a key part of good corporate governance.
Digital board portals have transformed the way directors prepare for board meetings. in the past before a meeting, directors would receive heavy packs of paper information delivered to their homes by courier. If there were last-minute amendments to those materials, replacement packs or pages would be sent out, with the burden on the directors to ensure they were reviewing the right versions and destroying or returning the old ones.
DIGITAL BOARD PORTALS ON THE RISE
One of the advantages of using a digital board portal is that board packs can be created and distributed simply and quickly. Any inevitable last-minute amendments are updated straight to the portal, which directors access via a tablet app, PC or browser. The time saved in printing and distribution can give directors more time to prepare, and they know that they are spending that time reviewing the right information.
Directors can access past, as well as current, information through the portal, providing context to a particular business problem.
company, highlighted the value of digital board portals in ensuring directors always have the access they need to materials. as Paul McKenna told us: “the advantage is that board members will always have the latest papers available to them, assuming they have been given a moment or two to sync them. and there is no longer the need to get additions and corrections distributed around the world.”
A SAFE AND CONVENIENT SOLUTION
Another great advantage of a digital portal is that it eliminates the inherent security risk of carrying (or couriering) paper packs around the world. Having everything accessible through a secure app on an iPad, for example, means that even if the iPad was lost, the materials on it would still be safe. it is a much more convenient system, too. We have heard many stories of directors who have happily relinquished the need to carry kilos of paper with them to meetings - often in hand luggage on international flights, as such sensitive corporate information cannot be trusted to the hold. Those who sit on multiple boards in particular do not miss having to carry several heavy packs of paper with them around the world. We have one director using the Diligent Boardbooks Portal who sits on six different boards. Needless to say, his life is significantly easier now he can access information for all six companies on a single iPad. And of course, many board directors already use iPads these days so accessing board papers through a secure tablet app comes very naturally to them.
Digital Board Portals have great advantages for security and convenience of board communications. The right level of support is key.
BOARD PERSPECTIVES 24/7 SUPPORT
Providing high-quality support for this technology is essential. Directors will review information in the early morning, late at night, at weekends and while travelling. a 9-to-5, Monday-to-Friday customer service team will not work when you are preparing for a board meeting at 9 o'clock on a Sunday night ahead of an international flight.
Customer support must reflect the level of services directors expect and the hours they work. the requirement is for real people answering the phone straight away and 24/7, knowledgably addressing anything from a technical query about the portal to a question about the iPad the app is on. The technology brings many advantages. but arguably it is this level of support that is the real differentiator between board portal services.
For more information, visit www.boardbooks.com
Charlie Horrell is Md, eMea, for diligent boardbooks
ltd. (www.boardbooks.com).
Over 3,400 boards and 72,000 individual directors, executives and board teams worldwide rely on diligent board Member Services, inc. to speed and simplify how board materials are produced, delivered and reviewed. Providing the world's most widely used secure board portal, diligent has pioneered ease of use, stringent security and superior training and support since 2001. it serves 39 of the FtSe 100 in the uK, 13 of the aeX 25 index, 319 of the Fortune 1000 plus a variety of private firms, non-profits and government agencies globally.
