Where Was The Board During Brexit?

The vast majority of the UK’s FTSE 250 companies had not discussed contingency planning for a possible Brexit with the chairman of the board or the chairman of the audit committee. The failure of boards and management to engage on a matter of such significance should be alarming to shareholders on at least three levels: risk management; board process and agendas; and board composition. Furthermore, if management had not been surfacing Brexit on the board agenda, and board members did not ask questions, then how do investors know that boards and management are engaging on other matters that will affect the company’s value—issues such as developing markets, climate change, ecosystems loss, and human rights, for example?