Corporate Directors Survey Clarifies Current Board Risk Management Practices

In April 2010, 10,000 directors from the top 2,000 companies by revenue were randomly selected to receive PricewaterhouseCooper’s 2010 Annual Corporate Directors Survey. Surveys were returned by 1,110 corporate board members, representing 819 separate boards. PricewaterhouseCoopers expects to issue insights on the survey later this year.

Key findings from the survey are summarized below:

• 63.3% believe board involvement in risk oversight is extremely valuable.
• 11.0% currently have a separate risk committee, 70.7% believe a separate risk committee is unnecessary.
• More than half of the respondents expect the board to spend more time and focus on risk management and strategic planning.
• 66.5% of boards have discussed an action plan in the last year that would outline the steps a company would take if it should face a major crisis.
• 67.5% believe the board’s ability to monitor a risk management plan to mitigate corporate exposures is effective.
• 44.7% believe a link between compensation and material risk is extremely valuable.

• 42.7% believe it is important to consider performing a compensation risk assessment to improve CEO pay policies.

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