By Adam Turteltaub

As important as gaining access to the board is, using that time properly is even more crucial. Becky Rohr, Chief Compliance Officer and head of Investigations at Ericsson, will be sharing her insights and advice on this topic in her session “Board Reporting, Not Bored Reporting: Presenting to Boards and Other Senior Stakeholders by Using Data and Storytelling” at the 2025 SCCE Annual Compliance & Ethics Institute in Nashville.

In this podcast and preview of her session, she advises that, even before entering the boardroom it’s important to take the time to know your audience. Talking to the board, a board committee or senior executives is different since each has its own priorities. Be sure that what you say and show them speaks directly to their role. Remember, too, that the board is focused on the organization as a whole.

She cautions that the board will feel obligated to read anything you send it. So, be sure to avoid overwhelming them and to focus on the larger issues that could materially affect the organization.

When presenting data, don’t just give them the raw numbers. Prepare a concise analysis that tells them what those numbers mean and what the key takeaways are.

She found that a slide showing opportunities, challenges, highlights and lowlights in a simple quadrant graphic can be particularly useful. Dashboards, too, can be valuable, so long as every light on it isn’t green. That’s bound to raise suspicions.

Take the time, too, to anticipate what questions they are likely to ask. She warns that boards tend to want to know how the organization stacks up against its industry peers. So, be sure to take the time to benchmark.

Be sure to also take the time to listen to the podcast and join us in Nashville, September 14-17, at the SCCE Annual Compliance & Ethics Institute.

Listen now

The Compliance Perspectives Podcast is sponsored by Athennian, a leading provider of entity management and governance software. Get started at www.athennian.com.