The Board Institute Launches New 'TBI Protiviti Board Risk Oversight Meter'

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Nov 18, 2016, 08:03 ET

PHOENIX and MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board Institute, Inc. (TBI), in partnership with Protiviti, a global consulting firm, has released TBI Protiviti Board Risk Oversight Meter™ to enable boards of directors to assess and improve the effectiveness of their risk oversight processes. In developing this unique evaluation and educational tool, the two organizations collaborated with an advisory consortium of governance experts and active board members. The result is an easy-to-use, web-based tool that will help boards of directors to assist the organizations they serve manage risk in today's complex business environment.

"We are proud to add the TBI Protiviti Board Risk Oversight Meter to The Board Institute's suite of world-class, validated tools," said Susan F. Shultz, founder and president of The Board Institute. "Our suite of tools is the first and only accredited web-based solution for board evaluation, education and benchmarking. Not only do our tools save time and accommodate directors' schedules, they enable self-directed evaluations as well as consulting facilitation and are easily customized. As a result, directors take ownership of the results using a robust, up-to-date, actionable report."

Only 32 percent of public company directors have a high level of knowledge and understanding of their board's emerging risks.¹In an environment of constant, disruptive change, it is imperative that directors assist their companies with the prudent risk-taking that is essential to successful strategic execution.

Jim DeLoach, a Protiviti managing director, points out, "Boards have an opportunity to refresh their oversight process continuously to ensure it's focused sharply on the opportunities and risks that truly matter. Protiviti's commitment to facilitating continuous process improvement ‑ to enable companies to confidently face the future ‑ is why we chose to collaborate with The Board Institute. We're excited to offer the director community a flexible, cost-effective tool that assists boards in their periodic self-evaluation process and mirrors the way many directors prefer to conduct self-evaluations."

TBI Protiviti Board Risk Oversight Meter leverages years of research to provide a tool that enables a board to highlight its strengths and limitations through a participative process and insightful reporting of the range of responses, the mean response, best practices, anonymous commentary, and legal and regulatory requirements germane to board risk oversight. According to noted organizational resilience expert, Dan Sharp, principal of The Board Institute, "With disorder and disruption becoming the norm rather than the exception, it's critical that boards have the skills to help their companies prepare for and manage impending risk. Our tool highlights the importance of organizational resiliency and the board's role in driving it."

The TBI Protiviti Board Risk Oversight Meter will provide substantive support for the board's efforts to comply with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules requiring all public companies to disclose the extent of their boards' role in the risk oversight of the company. In addition, as regulatory attention on the appropriate involvement of the board with the company's management of risk increases, particularly in financial services, the focus on the quality of the underlying risk oversight process intensifies.

Regulators are taking notice of companies' risk management efforts. As U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellon said recently, "I'm going to be focusing on risk and board oversight."²

Recent corporate scandals, fraud and reckless risk-taking underline the urgency of proactively addressing unforeseen risks and making effective risk oversight a priority for every board. "To address new regulatory pressures, investor demands, innovative competitors and the array of internal and external potential disruptors," says Shultz, "boards must have confidence that they are effectively overseeing risk. Our Meter will enable that confidence."

Boards interested in using the TBI Protiviti Board Risk Oversight Meter should visit The Board Institute web site at http://theboardinstitute.com/board-risk-meter/ and read The Protiviti View blog to learn more.

About The Board Institute

The Board Institute's customizable, easy to use, web-based evaluation and educational tools are developed in cooperation with leading governance experts and select partners, including the founder of 360^oFeedback, the Foundation of Financial Executives Int'l, the Society for Governance Professionals, and Protiviti. Board evaluation Indexes include The Board Index™, The Audit Committee Index™, The Compensation Committee Index™, The Governance Committee Index™, The Director Index™, The Fiduciary Board Index™", and The Norwegian Board Index™. Reports provide scores, variances, ranges of responses, best practices, regulatory requirements and anonymous comments. The Indexes can be administered in-house or with the help of consultants. Please visit www.theboardinstitute.com, or contact 480-998-1081 or [email protected].

About Protiviti

Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach and unparalleled collaboration to help leaders confidently face the future. Through its network of more than 70 offices in over 20 countries, Protiviti and its independently owned Member Firms provide clients with consulting solutions in finance, technology, operations, data analytics, governance, risk and internal audit.

Protiviti has served more than 60 percent of Fortune 1000^® and 35 percent of Fortune Global 500^® companies. The firm also works with smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies. Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half is a member of the S&P 500 index.

Editors' note: photos available upon request.

¹ Source: NACD, 2015-2016 public company governance survey.

²Source: Transcript of Chair Janet Yellen's September 21, 2016, press conference at https://www.federalreserve.gov/mediacenter/files/FOMCpresconf20160921.pdf.

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