From prep to follow-up, artificial intelligence elevates every stage of governance, writes Nithya Das, General Manager of Governance at Diligent.
Presented by Diligent
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes ubiquitous in business and life, corporate boards have been buzzing with talk about overseeing Al’s responsible, ethical use in their organisations. But here’s another topic of conversation you should explore — how to use Al in your own work on the board. Because if you don’t make the move to Al soon, you risk falling dangerously behind in terms of operational efficiency and effective decision-making.
Shifting AI from breaking news to business as usual
Think about the recent transition from analogue to digital in corporate governance. Previously, preparing board books was a labour-intensive process that resulted in outdated, cumbersome materials. Just as digital governance revolutionised board operations, AI-powered governance will soon become the new standard.
Could you envision life without digital board books and an online governance portal? You’ll soon feel the same way about AI-powered governance. Already, smart agendas, automated minutes and insights-packed board books are transforming how boards prepare, meet and make decisions. Advanced analytics provide a better understanding of business trends and enhanced security protocols help to safeguard sensitive information.
What’s more, purpose-built Al tools boost governance throughout a company’s growth journey.
Before the board meeting: Supercharging analysis and preparation
For directors, executives and administrators alike, preparing for a board meeting too often feels like a futile challenge to bend the space-time continuum. Review 800 pages of board materials during a two-hour flight. Fit the assembly of these materials into an already packed workload.
AI changes this picture by making everyone faster and better at meeting preparation. What content needs to be updated — and where is this data coming from? Who needs to be looped into the revision process? Finally, what’s the overall narrative, including key discussion points and action items from previous meetings?
For teams assembling meeting materials, AI-powered tools streamline the process through analysis of past content, automatic collection of metrics and data, and automated requests for information.
For directors on the go and digesting these materials, AI-driven tools streamline and supercharge the process of analysing large volumes of data. They generate cross-referenced, easy-to-drill-down content summaries, automated flags on action items and recommendations for questions to ask based on past materials and overarching context. As a result, directors can identify key issues and opportunities in advance and enter the board meeting ready to make informed, strategic decisions.
During the meeting: Sharpening discussions and decision-making
Many of a company’s important and time-sensitive decisions take place in board meetings. Your directors can’t afford to waste time scribbling manual notes that may not catch all the details, or scrambling across files for the background they need.
AI-driven board governance software revolutionises meeting management by automating tasks such as minute-taking and transcription, freeing up administrative staff and directors to focus on more strategic work. With AI, boards can automatically synthesise and draft minutes from raw notes and historic materials. Opt-in automated transcription tools record discussions in real-time with greater accuracy than human note-taking. This results in more accurate and efficient meeting records.
Throughout the meeting, AI-driven decision support systems analyse discussions, delivering instant, context-rich insights that empower timely, meaningful director contributions.
After the meeting: Keeping up with trends, performance and change
When the board or committee meeting ends, governance work doesn’t stop. As public and private boards know all too well, emerging issues and exciting opportunities often pop up between board meetings. What’s more, today’s directors need to constantly scan the radar for such developments, to respond proactively rather than reactively.
AI-powered board governance helps here, too. A key example is benchmarking performance. Whether comparing ESG metrics against industry benchmarks or revenue growth against peers, collecting and making sense of data typically involves days, if not weeks, of information-gathering and independent analysis.
AI radically trims and transforms these tasks through automation, providing real-time analyses and reports, and sharpening strategic views with predictive insights. This enables boards to extract key insights from public filings, compare their materials with competitors, and visualise performance trends. The result is more informed decision-making for public and private boards.
Read more about AI-powered governance.
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