Regulators and investors increasingly say boards of directors need more expertise to ensure they can respond to fast-changing politics, policy, and technology that threaten to undermine their businesses. In the U.K., government officials say boards need to think more about cyber. In the EU, they need to prepare for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Speaking at Compliance Week’s Third-Party Risk Management summit, Boards of the Future director Vera Cherepanova says that directors need to think broadly, rather than in specialties.

Boards are often made up of people with a variety of specialties to serve as advisors and support for the company’s management. But as risk landscapes expand, it’s increasingly untenable to find all those specialties. ”There are many types of risk,” Cherepanova said, ranging from supply chain to corruption to cybersecurity. ”It comes down to connecting the dots.”

Ian Sherr, Compliance Week’s Editor-in-Chief, is a widely published journalist who has covered business, politics, and policy for outlets including CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and CNET.