Governance of transformation amid an uncertain business climate

Why it matters

It seems an understatement to characterize the current state of global affairs as “volatile.” If the past few years have shown anything, it’s that boards can be certain of at least one thing: an uncertain governance landscape. Volatility wrought by a pandemic, economic upheavals, and geopolitical conflict—to name just a few challenges of late—have added a suite of new risks for boards to navigate.¹ Finding a way through such turbulent waters isn’t easy. But according to Deloitte’s MarginPLUS 2024 Survey, a growing number of companies are charting a course with the help of transformation initiatives focused on margin improvement programs.²

Regardless of form, transformation initiatives may involve large-scale changes that aim to bolster efficiency, reduce manual processes, and otherwise modernize business operations. Their scale and scope (from individual business units to organizationwide) can be different across industry as can the governance processes. In this article, we highlight three areas of focus for boards when overseeing transformation initiatives.