BOARDS OF THE FUTURE: STEERING ORGANIZATIONS TO THRIVE

ACOMBINATION of complex regulatory environments and dynamic, competitive markets need to hurdle to compete and this daunting. According to Nick Jeffrey, director for public policy at Grant Thornton, “if Boards are not looking ahead, through the right lenses, the risk is they will only spot these issues when they are right in front of them—which may be too late.”

But are Boards looking far enough and moving quickly enough? “Boards of the future: steering organizations to thrive,” a Grant Thornton corporate governance report, uncovered these burning priorities for Boards and shareholders worldwide. This report, discussed in significant details below, drew insights from our International Business Report (IBR) as well as from data and interviews culled from Grant Thornton teams around the world.

Findings from the Grant Thornton US Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Survey 2016 advised businesses to understand this complex and dynamic business landscape. It found that, on average, organizations spend 12 percent of their total revenue on

JESSIE CARPIO

governance, risk and compliance activity. In the Philippines, Boards, especially of listed companies, are being organized primarily around good corporate governance, with the involvement in corporate strategy gaining traction.

But regulation is far from the only issue causing the demands for Boards to change. Boards face challenges and opportunities at for the global economy when the world continues to globalize and interconnect. Research by the World Trade Organization reveals that economic growth is increasingly being driven by crossborder trade. The average share of exports and imports of goods and commercial services in world GDP 20 percent in value terms in 1995

Elsewhere, a survey of nearly 400 US public company directors found that nearly half (48 percent) think economic uncertainty

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