Corporate Board Member and EY Center for Board Matters revealed the noteworthy results of their survey of 365 public company directors on disruptive technology.
Key findings include:
- About half of directors believe their boards have the appropriate resources to address the disruption caused by emerging technology. The balance are either unsure or don't believe their boards have the appropriate resources.
- 46% of directors say their boards are very attuned to the potential disruption of their organization and industry; 52% say they are somewhat attuned.
- 67% of respondents indicated that oversight of emerging technologies lies with the full board; 19% allocate oversight to the Audit or Risk Committee; and 17% allocate to the Technology or other related board committee.
- 29% of boards discuss emerging technologies at the full board level regularly (every meeting), and 23% discuss it at the full board level annually. The balance (48%) discuss the topic at the full board level on an ad-hoc (as needed) basis. The foregoing notwithstanding, 38% of respondents said that the the most important action boards can take to help their organizations navigate disruptive risks is to incorporate disruptions and innovation into the full board agenda.
- Boards most commonly rely on management briefings to stay current on megatrends, industry trends, emerging technologies, and potential innovation inflection points.
- A majority of respondents cite tailored board training & education as the top action item that would most enhance their board's or committee's oversight effectiveness in this area.
A list of questions for the board to consider at the end of the report can be used to facilitate discussion on this topic in the boardroom.
Note: Consistent with the foregoing, according to the latest edition of Society/Deloitte Board Practices Report (Q#12), technology strategy risk oversight - including innovative & disruptive technology - is most commonly retained at the full board level (61%).
See also Corporate Board Member's release; our recent report: "Emerging Technologies: Financial Reporting & Audit Implications"; Deloitte's "The tech-savvy board - Engaging with CIOs and management on strategy, risk, and performance"; and additional resources on our Strategy and Risk Management & Oversight pages. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!