By Ediri Ejoh

A survey conducted by Professional services firm, KPMG has shown that a large percentage of Nigerian directors are dissatisfied with the composition of their company boards, including lack of succession plan.

Speaking at the launch of Global Pulse Survey, tagged; ‘Building a great board-composition’ Partner, Board Advisory Services KPMG in Nigeria, Tomi Adepoju, said that the challenges of dissatisfaction with company board composition is global but Nigeria margin remains worrisome.

He said: “We surveyed more than 2,300 directors and senior executives in 46 countries around the world. Our survey findings shows that directors in Nigeria see much room for improvement as only 33 percent said they are ‘satisfied,’ and 29 percent ‘somewhat satisfied’ that their board has the right combination of skills, background, and experiences while 38 percent expresses dissatisfaction as against global 14 percent.”

Adepoju hinted that some of their respondents globally and in Nigeria identified lack of formal succession plan and directors with both general business experience and specific expertise needed by the company as barriers to building and maintaining a high performing board.

He noted that majority of their respondent cited robust evaluations and formal succession plans as the most effective mechanisms to achieve the right board composition.

“Despite wide recognition of the importance of succession planning in achieving optimal board composition, few boards has a formal succession plan in place, only 33 percent of respondents in Nigeria reported having either a formal succession plan in place or in process.”

On his part, Partner & Head of Audit Services KPMG in Nigeria, Tola Adeyemi called for strategic, integrated approach to board succession planning, composition and diversity which should be part of discussions by the full board about long-term strategy.

“The key step in the appointment process is to perform a board competency assessment which comprises a competency and behavioural assessment of existing directors. A detailed evaluation of the current gaps in existing board size, mix of skills, background, expertise and experience, diversity relevant to the organisation’s industry, strategy, developmental stage and environment.

“We hope these results and observations will help facilitate robust boardroom conversations about board composition and succession planning, and provide some insights to assist boards as they tackle the difficult challenge of building and maintaining the right board.”