The Duties and Liabilities of the Board of Directors

This Element is an excerpt from Corporate Governance Matters: A Closer Look at Organizational Choices and Their Consequences (9780132180269) by David Larcker and Brian Tayan. Available in print and digital formats.

A primer on what corporate board members should be doing: expert guidance on advisory and monitoring functions, compliance, fiduciary duty, independence, and more.

When asked what areas directors should pay most attention to, other than profitability and shareholder value, directors list future growth, risk management, and development of human capital as top priorities. Other areas of focus include cultural development, executive compensation, and compliance. Still, some evidence indicates that directors prefer advisory functions to monitoring functions….