Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
22/02/19, 8)30 AMHere are some tips to improve board reporting- Business News
Page 1 of 7https://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/columns/here-are-some-tips-to-improve-board-reporting/story/320709.html
THE INDIA TODAY GROUP India Today Aaj Tak Business Today Oddnaari Cosmopolitan Ishq 104.8FM
GDP Growth
Forex Reserves
Subsidies
Money Coming In
FDI
Jobs Growth
GSTIIP
Money Going Out
Forex Reserves
Unemployment
Exchange Rate
Development Projects
Govt Expenditure
Fiscal DeFcit
InGationFarm Loans
Foreign Investment
NPAs
Disinvestment
FDI
Revenue & Expenditure
Debt Vs Interest Paid
Fiscal DeFcit
NPAs
Exports & Imports
Central Subsidies
ECONOMY IN NUMBERS
WE RECOMMEND
Nasscom stops guiding
What kinds of reports boards get and do? In the wake ofSrikrishna panel finding ICICI ex-CEO Chanda Kochharviolating bank norms and propriety in favour of her husband,and the bank rightfully deciding to take back the very fortunesshe was amassing, many experts wonder why the then board
Home OPINION Columns Story
M Muneer & Ralph Ward New Delhi Last Updated: February 20, 2019 | 20:18 IST
Here are some tips to improve boardreportingThe quality of board decision-making is directly tied to the quality of the inputs that a boardgets. Inadequate, confusing, sloppy, overly complex or just plain wrong reporting to the boardwill trigger disaster for the enterprise.
Search
BUSINESSTODAY
DAILY NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE
Enter Your Name
Enter Your Email
India
You agree to our privacy and cookie policywhile login to our website*
Many experts wonder why the then board members, who had given ICICI Bank former CEO Chanda Kochhar a cleanchit despite the report, are getting away without any penalty or charges.
MOREECONOMY CORPORATE MARKETS MONEY INDUSTRY TECH OPINION PHOTOS VIDEOS MAGAZINE
22/02/19, 8)30 AMHere are some tips to improve board reporting- Business News
Page 2 of 7https://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/columns/here-are-some-tips-to-improve-board-reporting/story/320709.html
annual IT growth;cautiously optimisticfor FY20
Malvinder hasrecordings of deaththreats to signagreement absolvingBaba, will makeavailable whenrequired, criminalcomplaint before EOWclaims
MORE FROM THISSECTION
Indian real estateindustry voyages on itsquests for a trillion-dollar economy
Can Anil Ambani savehimself from going tojail?
members (who had given her a clean chit despite the report)are getting away without any penalty or charges.
When you think about it, boards rarely develop their own workproduct. The great majority of the time, they review, monitor,question or approve information presented to them by others.Since the outside independent directors of a board areamateurs in many ways to deal with the work of the company'sprofessional managers, this is inevitable, but it brings obviousdangers.
The quality of board decision-making is directly tied to thequality of the inputs that a board gets. Inadequate, confusing,sloppy, overly complex or just plain wrong reporting to theboard will trigger disaster for the enterprise.
While this applies to information the board receives frommanagers, it is also an issue for committee reporting to the fullboard - turning the complexities of audit or pay issues into aquick summary for the board is certain to leave many gaps.
What can a board seriously do to avoid the "Garbage In,Garbage Out" reporting syndrome? Does this fall intoregulatory compliance or fiduciary duties? By taking a wrongdecision based on lack of adequate information will always landboard members in soup eventually. If it is not happening today,that does not mean it is the right thing.
Just as in Chanda and ICICI board issue, if the board didn'thave access to the Srikrishna panel report, it is one thing but ifthey had the access but in an abridged format, board memberscannot feign ignorance, can they?
Here are a few suggestions for boards to get quality of reportsimproved:
Make one person the board's advocate for information.This is most likely the board chair if he or she isindependent, though it could also be a lead director. Thisinformation wrangler should be an independent director,and represent the needs and wants of the independentmembers. Only a leader with strong standards on the valueof good board information can make this effective. He orshe should become the person who board members (andcommittee members) lobby for information that is clear,timely, succinct and accessible.
Make questions on board information quality a big part ofboard (and board chair) evaluation to assure goodfeedback. And to give the role upstream muscle, topmanagers who provide material to the board should haveboard information satisfaction built into their jobevaluation.
Champion Of Champions ThisIssue|AllIssues
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Availableon:
LATEST MUSTREAD TECHNEWS
MORE
Anil Ambani's RelianceCommunications' stockvalue has eroded over 95%since 2006
Now, Reliance Jio will helpyou resolve your loanqueries
Govt to infuse Rs 48,239crore in 12 public sectorbanks
OnePlus to showcase 5Gdevice at MWC inBarcelona by February end,here're the details
Train 18: Vande BharatExpress pelted with stonesnear Tundla in UttarPradesh
You May Like Promoted Links
Amity University Online
easyvoyage
PG Diploma in Digital MarketingStrategies—Starts in March
Mukesh Ambani appointed as director ofBank of America
23 never-seen-before photos of theTitanic that will give you chills
Pak PM Imran hits out at India, calls itsresponse
Sun Pharma fallout: Whoshould wake up first, the boardor the whistleblower?
How to professionalise thefamily business and make itwork
"Il&FS Value Will BeMonetised In Eight Months"
Sun Pharma whistle-blowerreport: All eyes on SEBI'sdecision that could impactIndia Inc at large
22/02/19, 8)30 AMHere are some tips to improve board reporting- Business News
Page 3 of 7https://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/columns/here-are-some-tips-to-improve-board-reporting/story/320709.html
The board information wrangler and the full board canimprove their input by judiciously paring back andrationalising reports that come to the board. Build andenforce tests for this: How important is this particular datato board decision-making and monitoring? Is a reportcrucial to the board's role, or is it only good to know? Areparticular numbers showing needed KPIs, financial or salesmetrics, legal compliance, or metrics of interest toinvestors or analysts? If the case can't be made under someof these headings, why are they in your board folder?
Even with the board-led shapeups such as the onesdescribed above, most board reporting metrics are stillsubjective calls by managers. Someone decides this is orisn't important, data reported shifts over time, and long-term trends can be missed. Modern data managementsystems and board portals let you automate much of theboard information capture process. It will be good to buildreporting tools into your management information system(MIS) that capture the data your board wants, and thenassure your board portal includes the same and reports it.Subjective judgment calls become objective reports. This iseven more valuable for data-driven committee information,such as audit and compliance.
Reports from management to the board may needimprovement, but intra-board reporting - committees ofthe full board - brings its own headaches. As above,standardisation is your friend. It is good to have eachcommittee submits a form or template before the boardmeeting. Since the great majority of committee reports willcover the same repeating matters, a layout that essentiallyfollows the committee's minutes should be able to quicklyand easily transfer most action items to the full board. Thatway the precious time of the board is well spent.
What types of reports are better - Written or oral? Thereare plusses and minuses either way. The oral board reportscan cut to important matters more quickly in the full boardmeeting, but if you are taking the above simplified"minute"-based approach, you are really just reading fromthe paper directors have in front of them. A blend of oralcommittee summary with online links to the minutes andany associated minutes let the report be accessed by alldirectors before the board meeting will be preferable forbetter decision making. This can significantly reducemeeting time.
Next time, if you are a board member, insist on some of theabove suggestions to the management. And if you are amanagement member committed to providing information to
by Taboola
BloombergQuint
Hale 'N' Hearty
factorysale
Know The Latest In Stock Markets
Anant Ambani's pic with RadhikaMerchant goes viral; Reliance deniesengagement reports
14 Facts About The Navy Seals
Navjot Singh Sidhu sacked from TheKapil Sharma Show after his commentson Pulwama attack
Mi Plus Wireless Magnetic SportsWireless Headset @ Rs.499
The managing director and CEO ofICICI Bank can command an army
22/02/19, 8)30 AMHere are some tips to improve board reporting- Business News
Page 4 of 7https://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/columns/here-are-some-tips-to-improve-board-reporting/story/320709.html
your board, do remember some of the above to get bettersupport and alignment from your board.
In the board master class and certification programme thatRalph is planning to conduct in India over the next one year,much such useful information will be shared for boards todeliver better.
Ralph is a global authority on boards, and Muneer isco-founder and chief evangelist at the non-profitMedici Institute.
Tweet MAIL PRINTCOMMENT
DO YOU LIKE THIS STORY? 5 0
Tags: Boardroom Battle | Srikrishna Panel | Chanda Kochhar | Kochhar At Fault | ICICI Bank |ICICI Board | Chanda | ICICI Board Issue | Srikrishna Panel Report
Like Share 11 people like this. Be the first of your friends.Share
Go for the kill! Best time todismember a crumbling Pakistan -economically, geographically &militarily
Raman Roy is a serial BPOentrepreneur
Previous Story Next Story
You May Like by TaboolaSponsored Links
Kromtech
Aegon Life Insurance
Bloomberg Quint
Hooch
Amity University Online
1 In 2 Mac Users Unaware Of This Computer Trick
Term Insurance That You Can Trust in Just Rs.17/Day
The Latest Share Market And Business News For You
The Most Beautiful Royal Women
PG Diploma in Business Analytics & Intelligence
Have you heard about YES FIRST advantages yet?
22/02/19, 8)30 AMHere are some tips to improve board reporting- Business News
Page 5 of 7https://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/columns/here-are-some-tips-to-improve-board-reporting/story/320709.html
YES BANK
Mi Plus I7 Bluetooth Earbud Headset With Mic @ Rs.499factorysale
Magic Mop- Cleaner, Spinner & ScrubberMagic Mop - Spinner & Scrubber
Have you heard about YES FIRST advantages yet?
More From Business Today by Taboola
Who is Shloka Mehta, the girl set to marry Akash Ambani?
Ambani Brothers begin a new yatra
Father of Pulwama bomber speaks about son's terror activity : News Reel
Subramanian Swamy pitches for abolition of income tax; says it is burden on middle class
ATM transactions to SMS alerts: 5 banking services you wish you did not have to pay for!
Non-performers in Infosys may have to leave, says Narayana Murthy
Should I sit at home because my wife is ICICI Bank CEO, says Deepak Kochhar
Bollywood stares at Rs 200 cr loss on Salman Khan conviction
. by TaboolaSponsored Links
indiatoday.in
indiatoday.in
indiatoday.in
Politics over Pulwama: Benazir Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari calls Imran Khanimmature
Anil Ambani’s Reliance under pressure, shares slip 4.3% after SC order in Ericsson case
Fact Check: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath didn't laugh at martyr's funeral
22/02/19, 8)30 AMHere are some tips to improve board reporting- Business News
Page 6 of 7https://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/columns/here-are-some-tips-to-improve-board-reporting/story/320709.html
What is your reaction? 3 votes Powered by Vuukle
happy unmoved amused excited angry sad
100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
1 comment Recommend 0
Write a comment
I agree with Vuukle's Privacy Policy
Sign in
Sort by: Latest Best Editor's Pick
TALK OF THE TOWN
!
Go for the kill! Best time todismember a crumblingPakistan - economically,geographically & milita...
8 comments
'Rafale' e-mail is an 'Airbus'e-mail: How Rahul Gandhi gotit all wrong in this game ofobfuscation
7 comments
Name
More
JOHN THOMAS M 25 points
11 hours ago
Very relevant topic for the people who involved in board matterട. Agree with the 6Suggestions mentionedd at the last. Thought provoking and well judged suggestions.
"
0 · · Reply
JT
Share
