2015 Director Sentiment Survey

What directors told us in 2015

The 2015 Director Sentiment Survey captured insights from the New Zealand governance community through a collaboration between the Institute of Directors and NZIER. It reflects how boards were responding to economic pressures, governance risk, and emerging operational challenges.

Key insights:

• • Economic outlook: Only 35% of directors expected national economic performance to improve in the next 12 months, a drop from 47% in 2014.
  • Business confidence: 67% anticipated their own organisation’s performance would improve, down slightly from 71% the previous year.
  • Risk oversight & compliance: 78% of directors reported increasing time spent on risk oversight, and another 78% noted growing compliance demands (up from 75% in 2014).
  • Board capability: Just over half felt their board had the necessary skills to deal with growing complexity and risk.
  • Cyber awareness: Only 27% said their board regularly discussed cyber risk or felt confident in their organisation’s readiness.
  • Diversity: 60% of boards identified diversity as an important consideration for board appointments.

These results offer a valuable benchmark for boards looking to enhance governance effectiveness, by strengthening board capability, improving risk and cyber oversight, managing compliance burden, and embedding diversity into their operating practices.

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We hope you find this Director Sentiment Survey insightful. We would love to hear your thoughts. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to discuss the report.