What Are Corporate Boards Ethically Obligated To Know?

Why is it so hard for boards to get the right information? The fundamental problem is that most directors are, at least vis-a-vis the specific organization, amateurs. They are (mostly, preferably) outsiders—they are outsiders on purpose—and so by definition they spend much less time in direct contact with the organization than, say, the CEO or other employees. So they are automatically subject to relative information poverty.