Start here to build your survival kit and walk into any board meeting ready for clarity, control and results.

Board and leadership meetings today are more complex than ever. Whether it’s corporate strategy, nonprofit mission planning or public sector budget reviews, the stakes are high, the expectations are greater and time is always limited. In the AI era of governance, risk and compliance (GRC), success requires practical tools and proven board meeting best practices you can rely on.

That’s where your boardroom survival kit comes in. Each tool below represents a tangible skill or takeaway you can master with Diligent at 

, the world’s leading event for GRC professionals. With these tools at your side, you’ll be prepared to lead every meeting with focus, confidence and efficiency.

1. Clarity lens (to cut through the jargon)

AI-supported minutes and real-time annotation turn complex conversations into clear, actionable notes. From nonprofit funding language to procurement details to corporate M&A discussions, every board member stays informed and aligned.

, with live demos that put clarity at the center of modern meeting practices.

Step into your next board meeting with best practices trusted by corporate, nonprofit and public sector leaders.

More tactics for boardroom survival

2. Agenda compass (to keep every meeting on course)

Automated agenda workflows simplify creation, approval and publishing, ensuring discussions stay focused and compliant. Corporate boards stay strategic, nonprofits stay mission-driven and public boards stay audit-ready.

 in peer-led workshops that spotlight practical ways to stay on track.

3. Board book engine (to power through meeting prep)

The Smart Board Book Builder compiles, organizes and distributes materials in minutes. Admins save hours, and every board member gets the right information, right on time.

 where prep time was reduced dramatically while engagement increased.

4. Compliance shield (to stay ready for any requirement)

Diligent empowers both public and corporate boards to meet compliance challenges with confidence — offering 

, secure document management and livestreams for public entities; alongside automated policy management, regulatory intelligence and audit-ready workflows for corporations. AI-powered dashboards and centralized evidence tracking streamline reporting, regulatory filings and risk oversight in any sector.

 Dive into hands-on sessions and product workshops to learn how 

future-proof your board against changing regulations and strengthen reporting from every angle.

5. Mission meter (to keep nonprofit boards energized)

, nonprofit boards can turn board books and transcripts into actionable insights, simplify complex decisions and zero in on tasks that demand focus and judgment. So boards can focus on what matters most — their mission.

Explore nonprofit-focused sessions and live demos showcasing how BoardEffect’s AI features drive engagement, accountability and measurable results for purpose-driven boards.

6. Secure signal (to protect every communication)

Diligent Messenger delivers encrypted, compliant messaging for sensitive board discussions. Whether for deal details, crisis response or policy clarifications, boards collaborate confidently in real time.

 See how peers across corporate, nonprofit and public boards use Messenger to make secure, fast decisions.

7. Decision click (to proceed with greater confidence)

Secure digital voting captures results instantly and provides clear audit trails. Accuracy improves, disputes disappear and every decision is recorded with confidence.

 Experience digital voting in live tutorials and hear how boards of all types improved accountability with new approaches.

8. Governance map (to guide your strategy)

Customizable best practice checklists and templates support thorough preparation and follow-up. From fundraising reviews to corporate strategy sessions, admins and members know no detail will be overlooked.

 Learn how to personalize these resources in hands-on sessions — and take home tested tools, including board meeting best practices tailored for your sector.

Why build your survival kit at Elevate 2026?

Every item in your boardroom survival kit is backed by real Diligent solutions, designed to help you run smarter, faster, more secure meetings. At 

Explore the newest AI-powered capabilities for governance, audit, risk and compliance.

Join practical workshops and cohort-specific tracks tailored to your role.

Learn directly from peers through real-world stories and networking opportunities.

Earn CLE/CPE credits while building future-ready skills that elevate your governance practices.

Elevate is where you’ll put these tools to work — through hands-on training, peer learning and direct access to Diligent’s AI-powered roadmap. Don’t just survive your next meeting. Lead it with confidence, supported by smarter practices for boards of every type.

Your boardroom survival kit: 8 must-have tools

From 1 April 2027, Companies House will require all financial statements to be filed digitally via software, using iXBRL tagging — a major shift introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act.

While this change affects how companies prepare and submit accounts, it doesn’t have to disrupt your existing processes. In fact, if your financial statements are already prepared and tagged, 

 offers a simple, secure way to submit them — without needing to overhaul your workflow.

The move to software-only filing means companies must:

Prepare iXBRL-tagged financial statements

Most accounting teams already use software that supports iXBRL tagging. But submission is a different story — and that’s where governance matters. Traditionally, the Company Secretarial team manages the submission process, ensuring board approvals are documented, authentication codes are protected, and corporate legal compliance is tracked. These governance controls sit naturally with the Company Secretarial team.

Diligent Entities: Purpose-built to support good governance

Diligent Entities provides direct submission of iXBRL-tagged financial statements to Companies House, well ahead of the 1 April 2027 deadline.

 No need to change your current process: 

Your finance teams will simply prepare the accounts, including an iXBRL tagged version as usual, and provide these to the Corporate Secretarial team for board approvals and submission them through Diligent Entities.

The Company Secretarial team retains control over approvals, compliance, and authentication.

Diligent Entities already supports submission of documents and forms to Companies House and now extends that capability to financial statements.

Submitting accounts through Diligent Entities avoids fragmented governance responsibilities, with a single team managing board approvals, additional separate direct submissions (such as parental guarantee documentation), and LLP-specific rules.

The only change your business needs to make is ensuring your financial statements are iXBRL-tagged. Once that’s done, Diligent Entities takes care of the rest — enabling a smooth, compliant submission to Companies House.

Take control of your filing process with Diligent Entities

Don’t let the transition to software-only filing impact your governance processes. Diligent Entities empowers your Company Secretarial team to stay in control, maintain compliance, and submit financial statements with confidence. 

Get ahead of 2027 filings with a process built for your business — not against it. Explore 

 and see how your team can stay in control.

Software-only filing is coming — Diligent Entities as a means to submit financial statements

This article originally appeared in our September 25 edition of the Diligent Minute Newsletter. For more insights like these, delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe

Since the rise of consumer-facing generative AI tools, many corporate directors have been watching the headlines, navigating the risks, tracking the regulatory landscape and discussing ways to incorporate GenAI into business strategy.

Board members have also started using GenAI to prepare for board

— which spurs a few questions. Has the board been provided with the right tools and policies around "acceptable use" of GenAI for board work? How well are directors minding those rules of the road? And how can companies ensure the board is keeping its AI journey on a safe, sustainable track?

Diligent Institute’s recent “pulse check,” a focus-group style survey conducted with Corporate Board Member, revealed some interesting things.

First of all, a full 64% of respondents listed AI advancement and adoption as their top business priority. This rank — ahead of M&A and supply chain diversification — is saying something given the investor-pleasing nature of many deals right now and the ongoing adventure today’s supply chain has become.

Another big development: Corporate directors have moved from cautious experimentation to more frequent use in their own AI habits. Two-thirds of survey respondents told us that they employed some form of AI in their board activities. This is a significant advancement from 2023, when less than half (44%) said their organizations were using AI at all.

We also asked directors how they’re using AI. Half of our survey respondents reported using AI tools to prepare for meetings. Roughly 4 out of 10 (39%) use it for intelligence summarization and 26% for benchmarking.

At least for now, comparatively few (only 13%) cited using GenAI for advanced strategic functions, like predictive analysis or real-time risk monitoring.

Governance Risks and Practical Steps for Boards Adopting AI

And here are the findings that concern me most: Nearly half (46%) of directors using AI for board work reported using a system like ChatGPT or Gemini, which both have free or consumer-facing models. Less than one quarter (22%) reported having formal AI governance, ethics or risk policies in place. And a full one third haven’t even addressed the topic yet.

Keith Enright, who co-chairs the Artificial Intelligence Practice Group at Gibson Dunn, explained in our report how such a scenario — prevalent use of free or consumer-focused AI services, insufficient attention to governance — 

Imagine a busy director faced with a long flight, a 700- page board packet and a board meeting the next day. It’s tempting to “use one of the popular free consumer-facing AI tools to summarize the packet,” Enright said. But it’s a bad idea for board members, given the sensitive nature of board work.

“There are a number of legal risks to be considered,” Enright pointed out about corporate directors’ vulnerability. “They may risk inadvertently waiving attorney-client privilege. They might unknowingly share sensitive confidential company information with that third-party service provider without appropriate legal protections in place.”

Samantha Kappagoda, an independent director with Credit Suisse Funds, offered steps a board could take to mitigate their risk.

“By extension of the company’s technology adoption policy, directors should consider a policy that governs board use of Generative AI, including which system(s), and for what purpose(s),” she said.

Kappagoda also recommended “a robust discussion on potential discoverability of such use,” along with consideration of how AI tools are deployed: on employer-provided or personal devices either at work or at home (including VPN deployment), for example. “I’d also add choice of platforms, data security, and regulatory compliance to this discussion list, along with continued board education on AI risks and responsible use,” she said.

“Generative AI is evolving very quickly, so it’s also reasonable to expect that board directors will also continue to expand beyond their current use,” Kappagoda cautioned. She advised her peers on corporate boards to “more carefully consider the types of AI tools that they deploy, and for what purpose, and the implications of those choices.”

Read more from Enright, Kappagoda and our survey respondents in the full report: 

As directors embrace GenAI use, robust governance must follow

This article originally appeared in our September 11, 2025 edition of the Diligent Minute Newsletter. For more insights like these, delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe

Governance leaders feel more confident about AI these days, if the findings from our latest 

We asked GCs their key areas of risk right now, and only 8% mentioned technological disruption. This calm was a little surprising to me, given the current frenzy to integrate AI and see results as soon as possible.

AI risk perceptions among governance leaders

recent episode of the Corporate Director Podcast

 particularly timely. We talked to Beena Ammanath, Global Head of the Deloitte AI Institute and a faculty member for Diligent’s AI Ethics and Board Oversight Program. Ammanath’s literally written the book — 

 — on navigating tech disruption, and I always find her take on things very thoughtful, nuanced and reassuring, as you’ll see in these expert tips for AI strategy and adoption. 

Sticking with our GC theme, the paralegals who support them have typically followed an established career path. Early on, they spend a lot of time looking up statutes and contracts and reviewing documents. The information they learn along the way equips them for more senior roles.

But now AI has automated the whole process, transforming the team’s workload and profession’s overall pipeline and career trajectory. It leaves paralegals understandably worried — especially when they hear promises that AI will take away the boring parts of their work and make their jobs easier.

“Leaders have a responsibility to go beyond the clichés,” Ammanath said. “What happens to the workday when organizations make the job easier? If AI is going to create new jobs, what are those roles?”

“I think leaders have a huge responsibility to proactively think about that,” Ammanath said, citing the need to create organizational structures for new career paths and provide both targeted upskilling and general AI training to build fluency across the workforce.

Then there’s the matter of the human/machine relationship. “How can leaders thrive and succeed in this era of AI where humans and machines are working so closely together?” Ammanath asked. “To work in the best possible way, where can we get the maximum benefit with the minimum side effects?”

We’ve all seen cautionary tales about students outsourcing the entirety of their coursework to ChatGPT. This should go without saying but: Don’t do that in your organization.

In the podcast, my cohost Meghan Day and I talked about studies of what people’s brain waves look like when they use AI at different levels. The heaviest AI use showed the lowest brain function — almost like people were asleep. More optimal EKG activity happened when AI users started a task with their brains and then added ChatGPT.

“Personally, I’ve been most successful embracing AI in my job in areas where I already know what good looks like,” Day said. “And AI is able to speed my work along.”

AI also promises big potential for board members. You can train different agents to have different personalities and perspectives so they can frame problems in new ways for you, for example. But you’ll still need to oversee them and evaluate their output with your own human expertise to ensure accuracy and nuance.

3. Make continuous education — and hands-on use — a cultural norm

Navigating AI’s risks and rewards requires knowledge of AI itself.

This doesn’t mean dropping everything to become an AI expert (although those nine-figure job offers make it tempting). It means having a basic understanding of core AI principles, like machine learning, deep learning and computer vision — and what these principles look like in action.

“As corporate directors, it's important to focus the time and energy to not only learn about AI, but start using AI tools in your job,” Ammanath said.

AI is changing the way we work and the way we lead. For practical strategies and insights from Beena Ammanath,

listen to the full conversation on the Corporate Director Podcast: AI leadership strategies for a changing world.

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Your boardroom survival kit: 8 must-have tools

Software-only filing is coming — Diligent Entities as a means to submit financial statements

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