The joint study held by EY and SKOLKOVO Independent Directors Club is a survey of board members of 30 Russian companies to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on corporate governance practices and the strategic context of companies operating in crisis.

The joint survey held by EY and SKOLKOVO Independent Directors Club is a survey of board members of 30 Russian companies to assess the following positions: readiness of boards of directors (post facto) to act in a crisis situation; specifics of board practice in the new realities; expectations of the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on corporate management practice and the strategic context of the company’s operations. The survey was conducted in May and June 2020.

The Roscongress Foundation presents the salient points of the publication accompanied by fragments of broadcasts of relevant panel discussions from the business programme of international events held by the Roscongress Foundation.

On the whole, the Boards of Directors responded effectively to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, only some problems were identified.

According to the respondents, 90% of Boards of Directors considered the challenges of the pandemic in a timely manner, 37% paid attention to the problem already in February or the first half of March, and 67% of Boards of Directors took the initiative to consider the effects of the event.

Video: https://roscongress.org/sessions/mir-v-usloviyakh-pandemii-covid-19-globalnye-strategii/search/#00:38:41.408

The pandemic has affected the practice of Boards of Directors, but it will not lead to significant changes in corporate management in the future.

The respondents noted that the crisis revealed a number of shortcomings in the composition and practice of Boards of Directors. The greatest concerns are insufficient attention to risk management issues (33.33%), poor quality of information provided to the Board of directors (23.33%), problems of trust between management and the Board of Directors (16.67%), lack of expertise in certain functional areas (16.67%), and insufficient knowledge of information technologies used in the company (10.00%).

Video: https://roscongress.org/sessions/kak-pereyti-ot-zamedleniya-k-novoy-faze-razvitiya/search/#00:49:00.927

The pandemic will significantly change the company`s operations.

According to the respondents, the pandemic creates a high (40%) or average (37%) degree of threat to business, often changes are expected in the nature of demand (39%).

In some industries respondents (42%) expect the role of the state to increase. The pandemic will have a significant impact on the company’s business in both the strategic and technological aspects of its operations.

Video: https://roscongress.org/sessions/vklad-biznesa-v-ekonomicheskiy-rost-vyzovy-i-puti-resheniya/search/#00:20:57.983

For more information about construction as a sector with a sizeable share in many economies, rising level of digitalization, and shifts in consumer sentiment in real estate, please see the COVID-19, Entrepreneurship and StayHomeEconomy.