CFO.com -Most directors seem to be limiting the number of boards they serve on, lately. According to a new study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Corporate Board Member magazine,nearly half of directors (47 percent) sit on only one public company board. Furthermore, 78 percent sit on just one or two boards.
Surprisingly, although many governance experts have been calling on directors to not over-extend themselves, Catherine Bromilow, a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers and U.S. leader of its Corporate Governance Group, questions whether directors are not involved in enough boards. In a press release accompanying the survey results, she asserts, “This trend poses a two-edged sword. In the past, we were concerned directors were serving on too many boards. Now the question becomes whether there is sufficient cross-fertilization to leverage knowledge and learnâ€â€especially if directors are sitting on just one.”
The fifth annual survey measures the opinions of over 1,300 directors serving on the boards of the top 2,000 publicly traded companies listed on U.S.-based exchanges.
The study also found that board members are being held accountable for their involvement. For example, a large majority of boards (86 percent) report that their performance is formally evaluated on a regular basis. Of that number, nearly six in 10 boards (59 percent) took action or implemented plans as the result of the evaluation.
