According to the recently-released 2016 Board Practices Report, a collaborative board practices benchmarking effort between the Society and Deloitte LLP's Center for Board Effectiveness, 22% of respondents overall have a standing board Risk Committee. However, not surprisingly, that overall percentage reflects significant industry and company size differences - with 63% of Financial Services companies vs. just 5% of Nonfinancial Services companies, and 30% of large-caps vs. just 18% of small-caps, having standing Risk Committees. This compares to 11% of the S&P 500 with a standing board Risk Committee based on Spencer Stuart's 2016 Board Index - up significantly from just 4% in 2006.
84% of respondents to the Board Practices Report said that multiple committees share risk oversight responsibility, compared to 78% in our 2014 Board Practices Report. Of these, in response to a question about how the board coordinates risk oversight activities (with multiple responses permitted), 48% reported sharing committee meeting minutes and materials, 53% said they have detailed discussions at the full board meeting, and 35% rely at least in part on cross membership of the committees.
See also these recent prior Society Alert reports: "Board Composition & Refreshment Practices: Industry Variations," "S&P 500 Board Committee Structure Benchmarking," "Board Risk Oversight & Disclosure: Here's How," "Board Risk Oversight: Understanding the Corporate Culture," and "Board Oversight of Compensation Risk - Here's How," and numerous additional resources on our Risk Management & Oversight topical page.
The iconic Society/Deloitte Board Practices Report - which presents findings from a survey distributed to the Society's public company members in late 2016 - covers trends in over 15 areas of board practices and hot topics including cyber risk, shareholder activism, and board diversity.