Directors Quarterly: January 2025

Many boardroom conversations will be markedly different in the year ahead—broader, deeper, more introspective, and scenario-focused—as directors help their companies navigate a combination of transformational forces and global turbulence that few business leaders have seen before. Seizing near-term opportunities while managing risks and thinking long-term will be challenging.

In our annual messages for boards and audit, compensation, and nominating/governance committees, we highlight critical areas (and angles) for discussion—from preparing for policy changes under the Trump administration to oversight of GenAI, cybersecurity, CEO succession, and talent strategy.

In this edition of Directors Quarterly, we also delve into data risks and how boards are assessing whether management’s governance frameworks—around GenAI, cybersecurity, and data privacy—are keeping pace.

To provide multinational context for boardroom conversations on the implications of elections (held in roughly 80 countries in 2024), BLC leaders around the world share their observations on the issues that are likely to get significantly more attention in their countries’ boardrooms in the months ahead.

For our audit committee readers, we share highlights from the annual AICPA & CIMA Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments, along with updates on segment reporting, sustainability reporting, and other financial reporting and auditing developments. And timely insights on the skills and experience that retired flag and general officers can bring to the boardroom will be of interest to any board looking to bolster its composition with pressure-tested leaders.