A growing concern in governance circles is whether the desire to meet or beat quarterly earnings can be aligned with long-term business strategy. That disconnect that has even led some to propose doing away with quarterly earnings guidance as a strike against “short-termism.”
The National Association of Corporate Directors has stepped into the fray with a new report stressing that it is indeed possible for board members to help management navigate business complexities without allowing short-term pressures to undermine the organization’s focus on long-term strategic objectives. The report distills the work of an NACD Blue Ribbon Commission, a panel of governance experts and corporate directors who, in aggregate, serve on 34 publicly traded, 10 privately held, and 62 nonprofit company boards.
