Three-quarters of internal audit directors say the alignment of board talent with the company’s long-term strategy is a critical challenge for their board, and three in five cite a need for greater diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints on the board, according to a global survey by KPMG’s Audit Committee Institute. 
Survey respondents also cite significant barriers to refining the board’s makeup, from finding directors with the right mix of skills and overcoming “status quo” thinking to lack of formal succession plans. 
“Having the right talent in the boardroom is critical to a company’s long-term success,” said Issa Habash, risk consulting partner at KPMG in Qatar. “But achieving the right diversity of boardroom skills, backgrounds, and experiences to position the company for the future requires an active approach; from robust evaluations to formal succession planning. In Qatar, we are seeing very similar themes to the global trends identified in the report and it is important for businesses to take action to ensure their boards bring maximum benefits to the company now and in the future.”     
To better understand how directors are thinking about the mix of skills, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives in the boardroom - and tools and approaches to achieve the right mix - KPMG surveyed more than 2,300 directors and senior executives across 46 countries. 
Directors see significant room to refresh or refine the board’s makeup: Only 36% said they are “satisfied,” and 49% “somewhat satisfied” that their board has the right combination of skills, background, and experiences to probe management’s strategic assumptions.