Boards who seek an independent board evaluation benefit from access to global insights about best practices to consider and adopt for the future. Improve your governance and management performance based on solid data across the world.
Conducting annual evaluations is considered a best practice for all companies. In some countries, this is required. In others, it is elective. Either way, global data show that regular board evaluation correlates positively with improved board contributions in key areas, including clearer strategy, more competitive corporate performance, CEO succession and improved risk oversight.
BoardWise offers an affordable, valuable board evaluation service, called BoardScan. We hold an exclusive license for its best-of-breed board evaluation method and tools. Our reliable independent board evaluation measures the impact of governance practices on corporate performance and reputation. The evaluation is strictly confidential and the findings are reviewed by only the board of directors.The evaluation system is not people- intensive. Thus, a company can spend far less annually for fully compliant, global data and a private review of findings and recommendations by seasoned governance experts.
Our board evaluation includes recommendations for best practices to adopt for future improvements.We offer customized approaches to meet your evaluation needs. To learn more about our approaches to board evaluation, read our process outline.
Further, a solid evaluation can improve board group dynamics. A challenge many boards face is how to work effectively as a team, when each individual’s styles can be so different. Based on global research with more than 10,000 executives and directors, BoardWise designed the Board Style Indicator© tool to assist boards with how to optimize team effectiveness. Individual directors complete a 20-minute confidential confidential , online self-assessment that helps them understand their own unique board style and how to strengthen their overall effectiveness within a board. Based on the combination of styleswithin a full board, the modeling also evaluates the overall styles within a board.
This assessment is particularly valuable for: 1) newly formed boards to quickly understand how to work well together by understanding members’ styles and leverage known strengths, 2) souring ideal succession candidate to balance existing board composition, 3) boards working on mergers or acquisitions that must recompose committees based on new combinations of talent, and 4) improving group balance, committee and board leadership and board performance.
Benefits of Independent Board Evaluations
A formal, objective board evaluation process can help a board:
Must Do or Good to Do?
In many countries – including US, Asian and European nations – it is mandatory for companies to conduct annual board evaluations to meet stock exchange listing requirements and national and banking code regulations. In most other countries - including the US – it is recommended as a best practice.
If your company registers entities outside of its country headquarters, it must comply with the evaluation requirements within that country. Further, recent regulations require companies to disclose specific content in their proxy filings related to data from these annual evaluations.
Most recently, institutional investors make it a condition of investment that the company upholds this practice.
For a review of the range of approaches to board evaluations, see our published article:
Board Evaluations: From Bogus to Brilliant.
Learn More About Board Scan
Board Evaluations Can Increase Your Credit Rating!
Members of credit associations, e.g., the Shanghai Services Trade Association will incorporate in their credit assessment whether companies complete an annual board evaluation. Companies which do receive acknowledgement in their credit rating. Further, companies receive a governance rating score based on their engagement to improve their overall governance. Members who conduct annual board evaluations receive higher credit.
Board Evaluation