Board management software for financial services: Why do you need it?
Banks and other financial services organizations are in uncharted waters. Financial service regulations have increased significantly in recent years, and regulators have signaled that scrutiny and public enforcement will continue to mount through 2024. Yet, many financial service boards aren’t prepared for the demands those regulations will place on governance and compliance — a potentially damaging gap board management software for financial services has begun to fill.
Bank board management software is revolutionizing the financial industry by replacing outdated paper board books, unsecured communications, and PDF documents. It helps financial services leaders and boards securely and effectively collaborate now and in the future. Here, we’ll explain how to leverage board management software as a critical pillar of good governance, including:
- The role of board management software for financial services
- Why board management software is increasingly important
- The benefits of Diligent board management software in the financial services industry (hear stories from people facing similar challenges to you)
The role of board management software for financial services
Financial service organizations can shift many board management activities over to a board portal for banks, improving governance and driving better decision-making.
Access
Financial services move quickly, and boards are under pressure to adapt just as swiftly. Board management software digitizes board and executive meeting materials, enabling the board to draw from documents at any time to make efficient, data-driven decisions.
Because crises and opportunities won’t always wait for a board meeting to arise, board management software is the best tool directors have to instantly tap into essential board materials and real-time competitor and industry insights.
Security
Cyber risks have increased significantly since the pandemic, yet a recent report showed that as many as 14% of supervised bank boards have no knowledge of IT risks. Remediating breaches has also become more costly, meaning banks simply can’t afford to put data security at risk.
Board management software offers an encrypted platform for securely managing sensitive data, which is particularly imperative given the surplus of confidential information financial services organizations must effectively house.
Centralization
Many financial services organizations work across locations and jurisdictions through branches or subsidiaries. Although board management has a ripple effect across the entity, accessing insights across locations has traditionally been challenging — if not impossible.
Board management software gives financial services organizations comprehensive and secure access to data, files, workflows and communication across locations and subsidiaries. This allows boards to tap into a stream of entity-wide data before making decisions, ensuring each decision better services the entity as a whole.
Decision-making
Governance grants boards decision-making authority and those decisions can have far-reaching implications — both negative and positive. With board management software, boards can have a clearer picture of the many factors influencing corporate strategy, from regulatory requirements to business goals to compensation planning.
Keeping strategic insights at the board’s fingertips ensures intentional and strategic decision-making that drives performance.
Why board management software is more important than ever
Under mounting regulatory pressure and omnipresent cybersecurity threats, many financial services boards feel the path to high performance is narrowing. However, board management software — particularly premium software — is built to keep up with the financial service’s unique demands and challenges.
- Regulatory compliance: The financial service is increasingly heavily regulated with strict compliance requirements. Board management software comes with compliance tracking, audit trails and more, without which boards may struggle to adhere to modern rules.
- Cyber threats: Phishing, malware and identity theft are just a few ways bad actors attempt to access sensitive financial information. Financial service boards have a duty to safeguard that information, which is easier to accomplish with the encryption, multi-factor authentication and other features that board management software includes.
- Accountability: Shareholders and public trust in financial services boards has eroded in recent years, largely due to the impropriety that led to the 2008 recession and the sweeping bank bailouts that characterized the pandemic. As a result, boards have to provide detailed records about key decisions, which is a requirement board management software can help meet.
- Access: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated remote and hybrid work models for board members, heightening the need to access board materials anytime, anywhere. Buying board management software can facilitate that access without compromising security or compliance.
- Crisis management: Modern financial services organizations are marked by volatility, creating an environment that keeps the board on call to offer coordinated and swift responses to emerging issues. Boards can use board management software to rapidly distribute materials and make decisions, enabling the fast action the financial service requires.
The benefits of Diligent’s board management software for financial services
Diligent Boards, part of the Diligent One Platform, is the unified solution financial services boards need to overcome challenges securely and efficiently.
Collaborate with ease
Good governance demands that board directors have real-time access to documents and insights, including key materials, before board meetings. Diligent Boards streamlines document sharing in a secure environment for boards, like the board of directors at Absa Bank, a South African financial services business.
Switching to Diligent unlocks more efficient processes for compiling and distributing board materials — and the effective decision-making that comes with swift access to critical insights.
“Diligent has made my life easier. (It’s also) made decision-making very effective for the board as well.” Mwape Mondoloka, Company Secretary, Absa Bank
Drive board and leadership alignment
Getting board members on the same page can be challenging, especially when each has access to different information. Diligent’s board management software for financial services gives boards and leaders a dedicated space to review mission-critical insights anywhere in the world.
Leveraging Diligent to drive visibility helped Aviva Bank, a British multinational insurance company, generate the dialogue that its board and leaders needed to create alignment on business goals.
“It’s a user-friendly system that supports that kind of active dialogue around the content.” Victoria Garvin, Head of Subsidiary Governance, Aviva Bank
Get insights across the entity
Centralizing the data and dialogue from multiple companies within an entity can be challenging. Yet, doing so is essential to the success of select subsidiaries and the entire group. Diligent Boards unifies entity-wide insights in a single view for entities like Nambawan Super Limited (NSL), the largest superannuation fund in Papua New Guinea.
NSL’s board uses Diligent to make key decisions based on data and insights from across the entity.
“Diligent allows you to overlap companies if you have users in a group of companies. It’s user-friendly and has a great support team.” Raka, Acting Company Secretary, Nambawan Super Limited
Access information securely
Modern corporations house tremendous amounts of sensitive information. That information must be protected, but boards must also access it easily and frequently to make key decisions. Diligent’s board management software allows boards like that at Liberty Mutual Insurance to access important information in a single, encrypted platform.
Liberty Mutual Insurance offers customized business insurance solutions to safeguard financial institutions, including asset managers, banks, insurance companies, and others. That simple and secure access creates a culture of productivity, efficiency and security.
“It’s easier to manage content and to prepare board books; as an administrator, it makes me much more efficient in what I do.” Kristin Kelley, Assistant Corporate Secretary, Liberty Mutual
Always be meeting-ready
Preparing for a board meeting can take weeks of work, especially for financial service boards with countless regulations to follow and sensitive topics to discuss. Diligent’s board management software for financial services cuts back on the time it takes to prepare for meetings by storing documents, automating workflows, and instantly distributing any material the board needs.
“Diligent Boards is a great tool for assembling and housing board materials. It saves us hours of preparation time for our five boards and related committee meetings. It also functions well for directors to be able to access materials securely from anywhere in the world.”
Patricia S., Senior Paralegal
Lead the financial service with smarter decisions
Position your board to lead your organization — and the entire financial service. Diligent Boards is board management software for financial services boards (among other industries) that want to centralize and unify all board activities. Stay secure, efficient and proactive in the face of cyber risks, regulatory requirements and the ever-evolving financial service landscape — without sacrificing the smart decision-making your success depends on.
Download our board management buyer's guide to help you select the right software for your financial service company. Get your copy here.
