EY Analyzes Trends in Board Committees, Oversight

An EY report, based on a review of 418 proxy statements filed as of  May 2018, examines how S&P 500 companies are using board committee structure to address oversight needs. EY found that board committee structures stayed largely the same over the past six years, with boards primarily relying on the three “key” committees generally required by the stock exchanges – audit, compensation, and nominating and governance.  The report also found that more than one-third of S&P 500 companies had an executive or finance committee. Use of executive committees declined slightly from 38 percent to 36 percent, while finance committees held steady at around 36 percent. EY also found that 10 percent of companies assigned oversight of cybersecurity, digital transformation and information technology to an additional committee, typically a risk or compliance committee. The report includes key questions for directors and urges boards to challenge the committee structure as part of the assessment process to help determine the most effective oversight approach.