Guidance and training to help raise and maintain the standards of effective board performance reviews, along with accreditation for those carrying out the reviews.

Some 80% of respondents to a poll out today from The Chartered Governance Institute and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership have confidence in the way their board is handling the current coronavirus pandemic. Just 2% have little confidence in the way their board is responding to the crisis.

According to a poll by ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership, the majority of companies are prepared for the UK to leave Europe with no trade deal in place. Some 71% of respondents, the majority of which hail from finance, commerce and industry, said that they are very prepared for a no trade deal scenario. Just 9% are not at all prepared and an additional 20% were unsure of how prepared their organisation was at the time the poll was carried out.

According to a poll out today by ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership, 36% of respondents confirmed that their company would be downsizing their office space in the future, but there is plenty of sentiment that offices will continue to serve a useful purpose as creative hubs and meeting spaces.

New CGIUKI guidance provides advice on how governance professionals can provide a new director with the information they need to be effective in their role.

In this podcast James Beasley, Senior Director at Nasdaq Governance Solutions, discusses the boardroom of the future. He considers how its directors will use what are currently emerging technologies to fulfil their duties and carry out their responsibilities more effectively. James contemplates the potential for improving board effectiveness through using virtual assistant technology or chatbots in the boardroom, as well as taking into account the potential risks this functionality poses. James believes today’s boards are ready to embrace technology but warns against solutions for solutions’ sake, highlighting that the use of technology shouldn’t be at the expense of overall board effectiveness.

In this podcast James Beasley, Senior Director at Nasdaq Governance Solutions, discusses stakeholder capitalism and its significance for businesses today. He argues that stakeholder engagement is the means by which to achieve stakeholder capitalism because it allows the business to understand different stakeholders and therefore act in their interests. James argues that the convergence of many monumental events over the last two years has brought stakeholder capitalism into the limelight and front and centre for boards. He outlines innovative methods for engaging with two important stakeholder groups: customers and employees. James argues that organisations need to develop more sophisticated data points for understanding stakeholders, focusing on qualitive rather than quantitative data to bring stakeholder experiences to life.

The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland (CGIUKI) and Trust Governance Professionals (TGP) have today published a ‘How to’ guide for academy trusts looking to change their articles of association.

The Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday of a new AI Safety Institute to explore the risks of AI developments is a very welcome step forward, as is the announced funding for a super computer and quantum computers which will be available to businesses. However, UK corporate boards must get a move on to prepare for the challenges ahead.