Board committees: The board's engine room

The business of business is no longer only profit maximisation. It has been redefined to focus on generating value not just for shareholders but for all stakeholders, promoting the long-term sustainable success of the company, and contributing to society. Business is now more complex. Digital transformation, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, recruitment and retention, climate change, geopolitics are just some of the more recent issues that boards need to address. Boards deal with this evolving and ever-expanding list through board committees that allow for enhanced decision-making. Some are for monitoring (audit committee) and others for advising (technology committee), ensuring that firms are well served.

- AMIT TANDON

At last count, the BSE and NSE listed companies had around 626 committees, although most are just differently labelled, as they have a similar charter - for example, IT steering committee, IT strategy committee, IT stewardship committee, IT strategy and digital payment promotion committee, IT strategy, and information systems security committee. Others have been set up for a specific task, such as the legal and impaired asset reconstruction committee, the empowered committee for procurement of urea on government account, or the share allotment committee. A few will likely be wound up once the shares have been allotted or the urea procured, while others, such as an environmental, social and governance committee, will likely continue.