[co-authors: Timothy Cotter and Kathryn Hastings, SullivanCotter; David Jarrard, Jarrard Inc.; Ken Kaufman and Andrew Majka, KaufmanHall; Zachary Morfin, PhD., and David Nygren, PhD., Nygren Consulting; Scott Steffens, Grant Thornton]

THE INCREASING LEGAL IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE COMMITTEE PRACTICE -

One of the most significant governance developments of the last two, consequential years is how courts, regulators and stakeholders have operated to expand the scope of the board’s oversight obligations.

From what was once a relatively finite set of responsibilities, board committees are now being asked to focus on a much broader range of issues than ever before. Need examples? Think of workforce culture, corporate reputation, human capital, business resilience during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, digital transformation, diversity across the spectrum, pay equity/just wages, social justice, climate risk, job participation and increasing signs of inflation, to name just a few.

Add to this the fundamental operational fluidity that comes with the realization that there may be no “After the Pandemic” business environment; that companies, as with the population at large, must become accustomed to COVID-19 and its mutations as part of daily organizational existence.