The Future Board

As corporate organisations respond to strategic challenge and uncertainty, boards must adapt to successfully steer business toward long-term sustainable success.

Mazars and the Academy of Business in Society - ABIS have identified the key challenges facing boards and their future needs in “The Future Board – Stewardship for sustainable success.”

Resulting from roundtable discussions with the business and academic communities, the publication identifies some of the key challenges that NEDs must address for future success, such as: being agile enough to handle risk, attracting top talent, adapting to technological change and providing a ‘moral compass’ in an age of increased transparency and risk to corporate reputation.

“These are fast changing times for business in terms of geo-political uncertainty, increased transparency, climate change, cyber threats and rapid digital transformation and disruption,” said Anthony Carey, UK Head of Board Practice and a principal author of the report. “Companies need to adapt quickly” he added, referring to the opportunities as well as the risks brought by global change.

Some of the areas covered include:

Adapting to technological change
Responding to climate change and societal challenges
The globalisation of business with a shift eastwards and southwards
Anticipating and preparing for uncertain futures
Seizing the right opportunities and managing the risks
Coping effectively with geo-political uncertainty
Implications of the new global business reality on board effectiveness
Opportunities for boards and business schools to work more closely together for mutual benefit

Three versions of the publication are available below: a full report of the findings and two focused briefings that look more closely at the implications for business and the academic communities.

How ready is your board for the challenges ahead?

Below you can download 10 questions to help your board identify areas for improvement and prepare for the future.

About the roundtables

Mazars held these roundtables in partnership with ABIS - The Academy for Business in Society. Participants in the roundtables included senior representatives of the business and academic communities, investors, professional bodies, think tanks and regulatory agencies, across the UK and in the EU.