Key Takeaways: Increased Agency and Responsibility: Boards are evolving to take on more agency and responsibility, often driven by a need to be the public face of the company, sign off on increasing disclosures, and develop compensation philosophies. This shift requires boards to embrace themselves as responsible and independent bodies capable of drawing informed conclusions and making decisions to sustain the organization. Long-term Strategic Interest: Boards must focus on long-term strategic i...
Jun 20, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 87
Key Takeaways: Maintain Tone at the Top: Boards should confirm that their commitment to compliance and ethical behavior remains strong and consistent, even with the DOJ's pause on new FCPA investigations. This includes consistent messaging throughout the organization. Review Third-Party Risk Management: Companies should reassess their third-party risk management programs to make sure they are not inadvertently engaging with entities associated with transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) or ...
Jun 11, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 86
Key Takeaways: AI can be viewed as a necessity for growth to drive both cost savings and revenue growth. Establishing a strong governance framework is crucial for managing risks associated with AI, such as data breaches and compliance with regulations like HIPAA and PCI. AI can be used both reactively to address immediate pain points and proactively to predict and optimize future business operations. While speed and scale are important, startups must ensure they do not compromise on compliance a...
May 08, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 85
Key Takeaways: Have a clear understanding of entire supply chain – from where merchandise originates to where it is assembled or manufactured Gather and analyze transactional data to understand the financial impact of tariffs Review the customs triangle levers: tariff classification, country of origin, and value reported to customs Manage the tension between transfer pricing and customs valuation, as these both work in opposite directions Consider the long-term strategy of relocating manufacturi...
Apr 18, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 84
Key Takeaways: Engaging with Stakeholders: Consider the importance of addressing every inbound inquiry, whether from activists, institutional investors, or shareholders. This involves methodical rigor and balanced engagement to understand and address the underlying concerns. Evaluating Board Performance: Allows for continuous evaluation of board performance, effectiveness, and skills. This includes assessing vulnerabilities and ensuring that the board is equipped to address current trends and ma...
Dec 17, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 83
To prepare for potential continuation of and/or changes in tax regulations, boards should be taking a vigilant watch and see approach and monitoring respective timing, effective dates and expiration dates: Confer with management to review financial models – e.g., changes in tax rates, deductions, credits, and exclusions. Get regular updates on tax policy changes to anticipate potential impacts on international and global tax strategies. Weigh the more likely scenario that legislative activity ta...
Dec 13, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 82
Key Takeaways: The SEC and DOJ are imposing record-breaking financial penalties to hold wrongdoers accountable for misconduct, while also offering credit to those who proactively self-monitor, self-report, and remediate misconduct. As highlighted by recent cases, internal investigation procedures and remedial actions are commonly cited as key factors related to the regulator’s view of cooperation and the determination of reduced penalties. Boards must ensure the company has established protocols...
Nov 19, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 81
Key Takeaways and Tax Planning Points: To prepare for changes in tax regulations, boards should: Confer with management to review financial models – e.g., changes in tax rates, deductions, credits, and exclusions. Stay informed on tax policy changes and reviewing with management to understand realistic scenarios. Consider the possibility of a divided government scenario, which may result in sluggish legislative activity and short-term extenders for expiring provisions. Understand the organizatio...
Sep 16, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 80
Key Takeaways: GenAI can be used to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness in financial reporting and internal controls over financial reporting. Currently, GenAI can help with tasks such as drafting financial statement disclosures, summarizing key contract terms, categorizing expense transactions, and preparing travel and expense reports. However, GenAI is predictive technology that provides users with a probable response, so it’s not going to be 100% accurate and requires human oversight, re...
Aug 01, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 79
Key Takeaways: Audit Committees should have a playbook when allegations of fraud arise. The Audit Committee’s response level to a particular allegation will depend on the scope of the allegation and the corporate environment. Determining when an independent investigation is necessary and how independent it needs to be is determined by the context of fraud allegations. Timeliness is critical. Care should be taken in communicating with stakeholders....
Jul 03, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 78
Key Takeaways: One of the roles of a board of directors is to continually assess the company and make decisions in the best interest of sustaining value for the long-term. Decisions to change business models should be weighed against the core purpose of the organization. Significant strategic changes necessitate the board to broadly evaluate the impacts on significant internal and external stakeholders. References: SEC Chief Accountant Statement: Audit Independence and Ethical Responsibilities: ...
May 30, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Key Takeaways: Culture is a team sport that requires the right data for the right stakeholder (including the Board). Protecting culture is just as important as strengthening your culture. There is a measurable ROI to culture. A proxy for culture is measuring organization effectiveness. Resources: Nominating & Governance Committee Priorities for 2024: Excelling in Board Leadership CalPERS, Schroders Launch Framework Tying Human Capital Management and Value...
Apr 11, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 76
Key Takeaways: While simple in structure, these new requirements have complex implications for companies, many of which may not be already gathering and reporting this level of climate data. The laws were years in the making but have now pre-empted the country-level SEC climate rules that many have been anticipating. Scope 3 reporting will be required for some companies, which includes the full value chain. Third-party assurance will be required in some cases. Even though the full extent of the ...
Feb 05, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 75
Key Takeaways: Establishing a “safe” environment for AI isn’t just a protective stance, it is itself a strategy that accelerates innovation, builds trust, and ensures long-term success. In making the decisions to address entity- readiness to greenlight AI initiatives, boards’ due diligence includes: understanding how competitors, customers, employees as well as supply chains are using or would like to use/leverage AI; establishing a robust management risk management and oversight governance fram...
Dec 21, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Key Takeaways: Using AI and predictive capability is not new but generative AI brings AI to the mainstream due to its human-like communication and ease of accessibility to companies of all sizes. For boards to properly oversee AI risk, they need to require management to establish a model risk management process along with a model risk governance framework around AI implementation that includes standardization of algorithms, governance and ethical considerations as well as validation of data inpu...
Dec 05, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 73
Key Takeaways: Leveraging data analytics for strategic decision-making: Use of data analytics in the boardroom to is becoming increasingly important to help directors make informed, evidence-based decisions that drive growth and efficiency. By incorporating data-driven insights, businesses can better understand their customers, optimize operations, and identify new opportunities. Overcoming challenges in implementing data analytics: Organizations need to be prepared to face significant challenge...
Nov 15, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Boards need to work with management team to continue to identify and prioritize opportunities in automation to enhance all aspects of operations, product development and service delivery. Challenges in implementing automation need to be identified and incorporate into a strong change management program to ensure enterprise-wide acceptance and adoption. Boards can play a significant oversight role in the automation process by helping management establish guardrails – policies, protocols and contr...
Oct 26, 2023•18 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Key Takeaways: 1. Approaching embedding AI into a service delivery model requires: Identifying and prioritizing AI business processes and use cases that align with your business objectives Assessing the feasibility and potential impact of each use case Developing a detailed implementation plan that contemplates the steps, resources, and timelines required for successful AI adoption Keeping cybersecurity at top of mind as well as quality assurance approaches. 2. Adoption and use of AI requires en...
Oct 17, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Key Takeaways: Use of technological automation in the audit can yield increased efficiency, improved accuracy, consistency and quality. Complexity, data quality, lack of flexibility, resistance to change and over-reliance on technology are challenges to automating auditing procedures that need specific consideration. Auditors are intentionally and systematically focusing on automating aspects of the audit that build capacity and streamline systems but that also focus on feedback and enablement o...
Oct 02, 2023•13 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Key Takeaways: Service delivery models demand that auditors demonstrate their efforts are directed principally to potential risks and anomalies and areas of higher risk. Boards that derive the most value from audits that leverage data analytics are those that have pretty specific views of what constitute outliers or anomalies for the business and that understand the auditors’ demonstrations of how their analytic tools can quickly surface and identify risks and patterns that may not be immediatel...
Sep 28, 2023•13 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Key Takeaways: Building corporate sustainability is not about “being responsible for” but rather recognizing “how to work in concert with” a broader group of stakeholders to reduce friction and produce better results. Innovation in a staid industry requires: - Creation of an environment to embrace and enable change – first speak about what will remain the same and season in what the change will be. - Recognition that incumbency is NOT powerful (i.e., faulty assumption that formulas in the past w...
Aug 03, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 67
Key Takeaways: The NEED: Data governance programs exist to manage change in data assets overtime. The WHAT: Data is an intangible asset that is constantly evolving and has a host of characteristics that make it difficult to manage compared to traditional assets. THE WAKE-UP CALL: When surveyed, 95% of respondents felt data governance programs were unsuccessful. The PITFALLS: Poor data governance stems from: poor data quality, lack of enforcement of policies and procedures; and data security and ...
Jul 27, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Key Takeaways: The basic tenants of succession planning require continuous focus and consensus and can provide an outline for preparation and vigilance. These include: Agreement on short- and long-term company goals Needed skills for the position - Keeping the job description of the upcoming vacancy current Keep a pipeline of candidates that span an array of various disciplines and experiences Boards should build in process and policy around board refreshment. Board composition should be built f...
Jul 18, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Key Takeaways: Funding for the CHIPS Act has been signed into law. This act provides tremendous opportunities for semiconductor industry organizations to expand production in the U.S. and additionally, provides many other benefits to the economy. This podcast discusses: Opportunities for national economic initiatives for organizations that can pass threshold question – How does the project enhance national economic security? Under the Act, lessons have been learned from PPP funding during COVID ...
Jul 05, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Key Takeaways: Suppliers have become an integral part of a company’s ESG performance against targets and laws, and therefore have an outsized impact on operational and financial performance Boards should set clear expectations for including supply chain risk within Enterprise Risk Management and require detailed management action plans to address and mitigate risks as well as identify opportunities. Good questions to ask include: Has the company mapped their supply chain and knows their 3rd part...
Jun 05, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Key Takeaways: Stakeholder-Centric: Ensure a communication strategy is developed around sustainability reporting that is driven by stakeholder needs Don’t neglect the passive or potential investors Depth and Frequency: Don’t just stop at the launch date plans, have a plan for targeted communications specific to multiple audiences year-round Multi-Channeled: Leverage multiple communication and media platforms, as stakeholders consume information in different ways Spokespeople: Identify and educat...
May 09, 2023•26 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Key Takeaways: Pillar Two comes in effect for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024 for multi-national companies with global revenue in excess of Euro 750m. Complexity will arise from both the detailed calculations involved as well as timing related to the phased-in approach by jurisdiction as to when each country will require implementation of global tax rules. Immediate steps to be undertaking by multinationals include an impact assessment and inventory of entities in differe...
Apr 27, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Key Takeaways and Tax Planning Points: Enacted as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), corporations are now subject to a 15% minimum tax on book income of $1 billion or more. The IRA also provided $80 billion of funding for IRS – with $46 billion earmarked specifically for enforcement. Enacted as part of the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations legislation, the SECURE Act of 2022 contains a host of retirement provisions such as changes to 401k, IRS, Roth, and other plan rules. While the current Adm...
Mar 29, 2023•17 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Key Takeaways: The discipline of modern governance today is really in a global realm – can no longer be thought of in simply local or regional terms. Governance should be viewed as a discipline and thus, your individual board “packaging” is critical to you being identified as a serious board candidate. Board Documents are not comprised of a resume or CV but rather are highly structured and specific tools and should be reflective of your core leadership traits, your “major” and “minors” with resp...
Mar 15, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Key Takeaways: Be mindful of identifying material impacts of climate risk and whether you are satisfying current disclosure requirements Don’t be lulled into complacency or the belief that mid-term elections may derail final rule-making Review carefully current financial risk disclosures in line with other information being disclosed by the company Consider the resources you will need to implement expanded disclosures and leverage advisors to help you navigate the complexities of climate-related...
Dec 07, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 59
