New research from Board Intelligence in partnership with the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) explores the hindrance that ineffective board packs pose for informed decision-making, drawing out crucial insights on how NEDs can approach the need for strategic board materials in their organisation.
The report marks one of the largest studies undertaken into boards packs in US businesses, looking at directors’ needs, preferences, and opinions on the pre-meeting materials shared with boards.
Using data gathered from corporate directors in 2024, the nationwide survey and interviews with NACD members brings about a multitude of great insights for Non-Executive Directors, exploring why board packs matter, what a good board pack looks like, and why directors aren’t getting what they need.
The report outlines how great board packs—with well-written, insight-rich reports—have an immensely positive impact on board conversations and decisions. And yet, too few directors are fully satisfied with the information they receive.
In fact, only 13% rate their board packs as "extremely effective," and 59% report three or more individual areas of concern within their board packs—ranging from papers being too operational at the expense of strategy, to information being too backward-looking and light on risk reporting.
Poor board packs act as a significant barrier to optimising director and board performance, but they also expose organisations to risk. The board can’t govern what it can’t see. It’s never been more important to equip directors to work efficiently and effectively.
As discussed in NACD’s Future of the American Board report, boards must navigate an ‘ever-more-turbulent and unpredictable present and future, marked by expanding expectations, conflicting demands, and intense scrutiny in an environment of growing complexity, disruption, and ever-accelerating change.’
Fit-for-purpose information can position boards to act with greater agility in adapting to changes impacting the company, and to fulfil their fiduciary responsibilities. This requires periodic reassessment of the processes in place to inform the board.
Without attention, value is being left on the boardroom table. Few organisations look to their board packs as a potential source of competitive advantage, or as a performance lever to be optimised—despite directors agreeing that there is room for improvement.
At a time when businesses are straining every sinew to find their edge—with 45% of CEOs believing their business’s current plan is a path to failure—settling for a board pack that is considered “not too bad” isn’t just risky, it’s a missed opportunity.
In part, this new report points to the fact that despite their wealth of knowledge and experience, corporate directors may not have a clear grasp of what the ideal board pack should look like; as highly sensitive and confidential documents, directors rarely get to see how other companies approach board packs, or have an opportunity to study best-in-class examples.
This makes it difficult for directors to benchmark what they are receiving from management, and to communicate what they need.
And while directors are keenly aware of the downside of poor board packs, this research suggests they find it harder to articulate the benefits of getting it right—and board packs remain an under-optimised tool.
The longer that board packs remain in the shadows, the longer these challenges will persist. With this research hopefully starting wider conversations about board packs, it’s important for NEDs to stay informed about steps they can take to utilise board materials more effectively.
Learn More:
Read the full report here.
About Board Intelligence:
Board Intelligence is a market-leading software provider that is trusted by more than 3,000 organisations and 40,000 directors to drive business performance and high-impact governance through board and management reporting. Over the past 20 years, they have transformed the board materials and streamlined the board management process of thousands of organisations, from Fortune 500s to global banks and government departments.