Board Leadership Centre

The KPMG Board Leadership Centre (BLC) offers support and guidance to non-executive directors, whether managing a portfolio non-executive career or embarking on a first appointment. The BLC offers you a place within a community of board-level peers with access to topical and relevant seminars, resources and thought leadership, as well as engaging networking opportunities. We aim to equip you with the tools you need to be highly effective in your role, enabling you to focus on the issues that really matter to you and your business.

Our publications are meant for boards, audit committees and other bodies beyond the executive room, and they present key issues that boardrooms are facing and explores the conversations that board members should be having. Our subject matter experts provide concise, practical, and timely insights and analysis of the key emerging issues reshaping and redefining the boardroom agenda. We provide guidance and tools to improve board effectiveness and unleash the value-creation potential from good corporate governance.

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) released the revised Global Internal Audit Standards on 9 January 2024, after a four-year period of consultation. These standards will be effective starting January 2025 and mark a major advancement in internal audit practices aiming to bring clarity to the role of the function and reflect the ever-evolving landscape internal audit operates in. In this document, we delve into the new standards and the implications for audit committees in particular.

Companies face growing demands to embrace and implement new technologies in order to remain competitive within the market. In Saudi Arabia, this trend is particularly expedited by Vision 2030 initiatives which aim to diversify the economy through digital transformation. In this publication, we look at the role that board members can play in their organizations.

In the evolving corporate governance landscape, the role and responsibilities of a chairperson continue to transform as well. The Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia has issued a Board Members Guide which sets out the responsibilities and duties of the chairman of the board. In this document, we present the key stipulations of this guide.

The new Companies Law, issued in January 2023, became the primary document for corporate governance at joint stock companies. In this document, we present some of the key clauses of the Companies Law for board members to be aware of, including those related to process of establishing, appointing and terminating board members, the entrusted and specific duties of care as part of the board members' responsibilities, the financial oversight and disclosure requirements, delegating specific tasks as part of the assignment of power, and how to avoid conflict of interest for board members. 

Heading into 2024, companies face unusual disruption and uncertainty – wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, trade and geopolitical tensions, economic volatility, persistent inflation and higher interest rates, technology and business model disruption, elevated cybersecurity risk, climate risk, and more. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) – most notably in generative AI – and continued increase in regulations will add to the challenge. This document is a summary of our observations and recommendations for boards in the coming year.

The business and risk environment has changed dramatically over the past year, with greater geopolitical instability, surging inflation, high interest rates, and unprecedented levels of disruption and uncertainty. Audit committees can expect their company’s financial reporting, compliance, risk, and internal control environment to be put to the test by an array of challenges which will eventually require developing related internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. In this document, we highlight issues for audit committees to consider for their 2024 agendas.

The issuance of the new Companies Law changed the roles and responsibilities of board directors, while for audit committees, the Corporate Governance Regulations, as they set out by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), remain the foundation for their roles and responsibilities. These regulations are the basis for this document in which we highlight some of the critical aspects of audit committee members to consider while carrying out their responsibilities. 

In recent years, the global business landscape has undergone a transformative shift, with increased emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. ESG and sustainable development are crucial factors in responsible business practices, and long-term value creation. ESG must therefore be embraced at the board level through an understanding of the complex dimensions and long-term implications of ESG.

The perspective of the audit committee continues to be a bellwether for both the executive committee and the board of an organization. As highlighted by our global audit committee survey, the expanding scope and complexity of the committee’s workload and oversight responsibilities are an important indicator of the challenges facing the corporate world. Uncertainty and disruption across the global business landscape are intensifying pressures on the risk and control environment in new and unexpected ways. In this paper, we highlight the key findings of the survey, with our interpretation of the way forward.

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, organizations are put under vast pressure in order to adapt. This paper provides actionable insights for navigating the future of work, addressing some of the most significant questions that boards should be asking and actions that they must consider for aligning future workforce with strategy. By focusing on reskilling, upskilling, and aligning purpose and culture, boards can position their organizations for success in this era of automation and digital transformation.

Independent directors are like lighthouses; they may not be at the helm of a vessel, but they do act as a guiding light and help find safe passage in and out of harbors. Independent directors are an incredible asset as they bring deep and diverse experience and can help enable major operational transformations. In this publication, we provide considerations for nomination committees and boards to support their hiring agendas.

The board of directors is responsible for the long-term success of an entity and its first responsibility is to provide direction and leadership within a framework of prudent and effective controls. For any new director, a learning curve comes with the territory. Just how steep that learning curve is – and how quickly a new director is able to contribute meaningfully to the work of the board and its committees – can hinge directly on the quality of the onboarding process.

In this volatile environment, demands by regulators, investors, and other stakeholders for more action and greater disclosure and transparency with the increased awareness around the company’s climate and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks will continue to intensify. Drawing on insights from our interactions with boards and audit committees, we have highlighted eight issues to keep in mind for audit committees consider and carry out their 2023 agendas.

The business environment has changed dramatically over the few years, emerging from two years of pandemic-driven challenges, greater global geopolitical instability, surging inflation, cybersecurity risk, regulatory and enforcement risk, a continuous war for talent, and the prospect of a global recession now added to the mix of macroeconomic risks – amidst of which Saudi Arabia‘s domestic economy showed resilience. Drawing on insights from our interactions with board members, risk profesionals and business leaders, we’ve highlighted a list of issues for boards to consider and carry out their 2023 agendas.

The KPMG Board Leadership Centre (BLC) offers support and guidance to non-executive directors, whether managing a portfolio non-executive career or embarking on a first appointment. The BLC offers you a place within a community of board-level peers with access to topical and relevant seminars, resources and thought leadership, as well as engaging networking opportunities. We aim to equip you with the tools you need to be highly effective in your role, enabling you to focus on the issues that really matter to you and your business.