Finance
NACD’s Director’s Handbook Series, “Getting Behind the Numbers: Board Oversight of Financial Reporting”, 2019 Edition, by John C. Fletcher.
NACD 2020 Governance Outlook, “Projections on Emerging Board Matters”, NACD and Partners Baker Tilly, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Ceres, Deloitte, Grant Thornton, Spencer Stuart, Well, Gotshal & Manges. Chapter Excerpt: “Governing Through Regulatory Change: A Focus on Financial reporting, Accounting, Auditing, and Related Governance Matters” by Jennifer Burns, Maureen Bujno, and Andrew Hubacker, Deloitte & Touche LLP.
Basics of Financial Acumen prepared by Mary McBride. Understanding Net Income, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow reports is a basic all board directors need.
Here’s the definitiion of a SEC Financial Expert.
One way to learn Accounting is to take advantage of the free courses in Khan Academy.
Board Journey
NACD Podcast: Future Trends #43: “What Today Can Teach Us About the Future” Over the last two years multiple megatrends have impacted boardrooms simultaneously. Mike Lubrano, Judy Samuelson, Ram Charan, and Stilpon Nestor discuss how assessing our present environment can give us insight into the future of corporate governance.
Board Monitor US 2022 by Heidrick & Struggles. This report shares the characteristics of Fortune 500 newly appointed directors. Understanding what board trends can help you match your qualifications to board’s requirements.
“Three Blunt Reasons Most People Don’t Get a Board Seat” by Adam J. Epstein.
“Workshop Portfolio Tools” covers the development of your Value Proposition/Elevator Speech, Board Bio and Board Resume.
“Sample Board Resume” by Carol Coughlin. Once you have corporate board experience, you will want to lead with that before your executive experience. However, it is perfectly fine to lead with your executive experience and follow with your non-profit board experience if your executive experience is the most impressive.
“Potential Resources for Bios, Resumes, LinkedIn Profiles and Value Stories”—compliled from resources recommended to Women’s Leadership Foundation
“Why—and How—to Articulate Your Value Proposition” blog by Tissa Richards
“Becoming a Non-Executive Director”, SpencerStuart
“Are you Ready to Serve on a Board?” by Anthony Heskety, Jo Sellwood-Taylor and Sharon Mullen, Harvard Business Review, January 31, 2020.
“How to obtain your first corporate board seat” by Taylor Simonton.
“The No. 1 Way to Get Attention on LinkedIn” by Robert Hellmann.
“Tips for LinkedIn Summary” from LinkedIn
“7 Steps to Create a Killer Board CV” by Mark Pfister.
“You are on Your Way” gives succinct advice inclucing emphasis on networking.
“Journey to the Boardroom: Networking & “What goes around comes around”” by Karen Cone.
“Due Diligence Guide for Reviewing Potential Company Targets” by Bill Heck.
“KPMG Directors Quarterly”, October 2020
“Look beyond Titles when Recruiting Directors” by Deloitte Center for Board Effectiveness
“Tips on Researching Privately Held or Family Held Companies” compiled by Bill Heck.
“Never Ovelook These 7 Classic Job Interview Questions” by Korn Ferry. While not written specifically for board interviews, still helpful.
“General Guidelines for Answering Interview Questions” by Brenda Snyder.
“Interviewing and Onboarding Webinar” by Him for Her with Rita Johnson Mills and Rebecca McIntire.
“A Differentiated, Practical Methodology for Analyzing Public Company Board Seat Opportunities (public)”, Small Cap Institute.
Ways to get the word out that you are qualified for board opportunities by posting your profile on these sites working to recommend women board candidates.
“The New Director Journey: 3 Ways to Integrate Successfully onto a Corporate Board”, by Laryssa Topolnytsky, PhD.
“How to Become a Welcomed Director: The First Three Months” by Lynn Clark
“A Few Good Women: Gender Inclusion in Public Company Board Leadership” by Diligent Institute. Once you are on a board, will you be prepared to chair a committee and with time chair the board? We need more women as leaders in board governance.
“What Makes a Good Board Member” by Margaret Steen, from Boards and Directors.
Status of Women on Boards
Women on Colorado Boards: State of the State is a census report of Colorado public companies. Check out the progress made in the last decade and the challenges remaining to achieve gender balance.
2022 U.S. Spencer Stuart Board Index shows promising progress for women and racially/ethnically diverse people being selected as new directors on S&P 500 boards. See the stats on average age, tenure and background.
Missing Pieces Report by Deloitte and the Alliance for Board Diversity shows the breakdown on boards by gender and ethnic classification. An analysis of the data shows that women of color, especially Latinas, are the least represented group.
“Women Leading Boards”, Women Board Collaborative Special Report in Collaboration with 50/50 Women on Boards
“The State of Board Gender Diversity”, KPMG
“Poised for Change? Boardroom Diversity Survey”, KPMG
“Asian Representation on Fortune 1000 Boards”, KPMG
Latinas are one of the least represented groups on corporate boards.
“Latino Representation on Fortune 1000 Boards”, KPMG and Latino Corporate Directors Association study
“Latino Board Tracker”, Latino Corporate Directors Association
Are there special challenges for women board directors? How can you ensure you have equal voice and board leadership opportunities? Why do you think fewer than 10% of Board Chairs are women? How can you make sure your board and company have an inclusive culture? Here are some resources:
“Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome” by Harvard Business Review.
“A Few Good Women: Gender Inclusion in Public Company Board Leadership” by Diligent Institute. Once you are on a board, will you be prepared to chair a committee and with time chair the board? We need more women as leaders in board governance.
“Diversity in the Boardroom: Pushing Forward, Reaching Back” by Women’s Corporate Directors and KPMG (regarding how boards and company can achieve the strategic value of diversity).
“2021 Study of Gender Diversity on Private Company Boards” by Ann Shepherd in collaboration with Him for Her and Crunchbase, March 29, 2022. Women are more scarce on private company boards.
Governance
“Basic Information on Boards of Directors” by Jo Lynne Whiting and Vicki Kramer.
“New Rules for Proxy Contests in Publicly Held Companies” by NACD. Once you are on a board, will your or your fellow board members’ seats be challenged by activists? This article concerning publicly held companies provides a framework of understanding of dealing with board membership contests of all kinds.
“Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation” by the Business Roundtable
“2023 Governance Outlook” by NACD.
“A Guide to Directors of Privately Held Companies” by Ronald I. Zall as part of NACD Director’s Handbook Series.
“US Boards Suffer from Inadequate Expertise in Financially Material ESG Matters”, NYU Stern Report: Center for Sustainable Business. Here is a 2 page excerpt for Corporate Boardbound participants with recommended action steps.
“Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and the Board” presentation by EY.
“Measuring Stakeholder Capitalism Report”, World Economic Forum prepared in collaboration with Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, September 2020. This report describes 21 core and 34 expanded metrics and disclosures which are a set of universal, material ESG metrics and recommended disclosures that could be reflected in the mainstream annual reports of companies on a consistent basis across industry sectors and countries.
“Startup Boards” by Brad Feld for Kauffman FoundersSchool. Brad Feld explains why and how the board of directors is a formal construct that essentially provides governance for the company. This is a series of short videos directed to the entrepreneur who is forming a startup board.
If you are pursuing small cap or start-up company boards, you may want to buy the book “The Perfect Corproate Board: A Handbook for Mastering the unique Challenges of Small-Cap Compnaies” by Adam J. Epstein.
“Innovating the Board”, KPMG Board Leadership
“Recent Claims SPAC Board Structure Are a ‘Conflict-Laden’ to Fiduciary Misconduct” by rank M. Placenti, Squire Patton Boggs LLP, June 2021.
“Harness Your Company’s Diversity for Strong Cybersecurity”, NASDAQ.
“How to Have a Great Board Meeting” by Dennis Cagan.
“Startup Boards: A Field Guide to Building and Leading and Effective Board of Directors” by Brad Feld, Matt Blumberg and Mahendra Ramsinghani. This is information on a book you may want to get if you are targeting or joining a startup board.