7 corporate governance trends every board must watch in 2026
Corporate governance is entering one of its most demanding eras. As boards head into 2026, they face a convergence of rising risk, regulatory pressure, geopolitical uncertainty and accelerated technological change, all of which are reshaping what effective oversight requires. Expectations are higher, scrutiny is sharper, and the pace of decision-making has never been faster.
The most effective boards are shifting from passive oversight to active, data-driven governance, where disciplined human judgment works alongside artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance strategic decision-making and risk management.
Despite this rapid transformation, significant gaps remain: while governance technology adoption accelerates, many organizations still struggle with fragmented systems and manual processes that limit strategic agility.
Ana Dutra, Global Veteran Board Director, two-time CEO and Fortune 250 Senior Executive, told Diligent Institute, “The winners will be the companies that recognize that risk and opportunities need to be standing discussion topics on the board agenda.
Think about changing your committee structure to reflect this — and make sure that you aren’t throwing everything under the audit committee’s purview. Beware of the dangers of a purely check-the-box mindset when it comes to preparing for these risks and identifying emerging opportunities.”
What do boards need to know about how corporate governance will evolve in 2026 and beyond? Here, we will unpack:
- The emerging trends shaping the future of corporate governance
- External factors affecting corporate governance today
- Key governance trends influencing global markets
- Professional governance technology infrastructure to address modern challenges
- Technology solutions to create a governance framework that scales with complexity
7 corporate governance trends shaping 2026
The world has changed significantly in the past year. These trends reveal how internal and external forces will fundamentally reshape corporate operations and what boards need to know to stay ahead.
Trend 1: AI-powered governance platforms will separate leaders from laggards
Board technology has evolved far beyond simple board portals to become AI-enhanced governance platforms that change how directors prepare for meetings, assess risks and make strategic decisions.
Leading boards pair AI insights with disciplined human judgment, measure real usage of AI tools rather than just survey sentiment, and pilot “lighthouse” projects to prove tangible value before scaling. AI literacy, bias testing, and human-in-the-loop oversight ensure responsible adoption, while stepwise integration enables measurable improvements in board efficiency and strategic decision-making.
- AI deployment is top of mind: According to the 2026 What Directors Think report, U.S. public company directors rank deploying AI technologies as their second-highest organizational priority, their top area to focus capital investment and the second-highest board agenda item for 2026. APAC directors also rank deploying AI technology second on their list of organizational priorities for 2026.
- The opportunity is massive, with rapid expansion underway: 66% of directors are now using AI for board work; of these, 50% are using it for meeting preparation, and 46% reported using a tool like ChatGPT. Yet, only 22% have AI usage policies in place.
- Early adopters are experiencing transformational efficiency gains: Organizations that have successfully integrated AI governance technologiesreport dramatic improvements in board preparation time and faster responses to internal stakeholder requests. These efficiency gains translate directly into more strategic board discussions and proactive risk management that impacts business performance.
- AI is democratizing sophisticated governance capabilities: Previously, advanced features like AI-powered document analysis, automated risk scanning and intelligent compliance monitoring were available only to large enterprises. Today's leading governance platforms scale these enterprise-grade capabilities from startup boards to Fortune 500 requirements, enabling smaller companies to implement professional governance infrastructure without traditional resource constraints.
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See AI in actionTrend 2: Corporate culture will reckon with financial fraud and abuse
Financial fraud can plague even the most outwardly successful organizations. In 2026, the challenge is building a corporate culture that roots out bad actors. This is easier said than done, given that corporate culture isn’t always effective at promoting transparency.
“There’s often an inclination to avoid bad news, with a hope that problems will be resolved before they escalate to the board level," says Pav Gill, CEO of Confide.
Boards should embrace culture oversight as a strategic asset. In addition to traditional compliance metrics, they can leverage anonymized data streams — like intranet messages or chat trends — to identify early warning signals of misconduct or ethical concerns. A strong speak-up culture, with closed-loop reporting and board visibility, enables boards to detect fraud or ethical lapses early and respond swiftly, guided by pre-defined escalation protocols for the first 72 hours following a crisis.
“There should be a direct, consistent line of communication from the Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) or General Counsel (GC) to the board,” says Gill.
While boards traditionally held senior leaders at arm’s length, integrating leadership with board directors can advance the processes, talents and best practices that compliance depends on. This ethical culture also has tangible benefits for the bottom line. LRN’s research shows that organizations with strong ethics outperform others by up to 40% across key metrics.
Trend 3: Ethics will be a key focus
AI deployment introduces ethical considerations that require rigorous oversight. Boards should implement a robust ethical framework from the outset, systematically testing for bias and privacy concerns and ensuring human judgment remains central. Ethical oversight should tie directly to measurable adoption metrics, linking technology usage to culture and risk management outcomes.
Ethics aren’t just about regulations either. AI brings numerous well-documented risks, including unintended bias and invasions of privacy. Harvard Business Review details several questions corporate AI strategies must answer, including:
- How might the AI we design, procure, and deploy present ethical risks that cannot be avoided?
- How do we systematically and comprehensively identify and mitigate them?
- If we ignore them, how much time and labor would it take us to respond to a regulatory investigation?
- How large a fine might we pay if found guilty, let alone negligent, of violating regulations or laws?
- How much would we need to spend to rebuild consumer and public trust if money could solve the problem?
Trend 4: Cybercrime is on the rise, emphasizing the need for strong controls
Cybercrime is the biggest risk most organizations will face in 2026. The ever-increasing value of data largely fuels this threat.
“Digital assets drive valuation, and the most valuable businesses are data-centric. This means the bread and butter of your business would then be impacted in a cyber incident,” says Anastassia Lauterbach, CEO and founder of AI Edutainment.
Generative AI has also increased organizations’ attack surface by an estimated 67%. The cost of breaches is projected to rise from $9.22 trillion in 2024 to $13.82 trillion by 2028. Cyber breaches are the third-biggest organizational risk, behind a sharp downturn in the U.S. economy and black swan events, and cybersecurity is also ranked the biggest “underrated risk” of 2026 by U.S. public company directors, according to the 2026 What Directors Think report. In APAC, 46% of respondents prioritize managing cyber risk in 2026, with 65% naming digital transformation as their most urgent board discussion topic.
Over the next year, boards must remain vigilant. Infrastructure and data upgrades of all sizes must be considered high-risk. Implement software and configuration changes carefully and strategically to avoid widespread disruption or damaging breaches.
Take CrowdStrike, for example. This U.S. cybersecurity company deployed a faulty CrowdStrike Falcon software update in July 2024 that triggered an outage affecting roughly 8.5 million computers using Microsoft systems worldwide. The insurance costs are still mounting but are expected to reach $300 million to $1 billion — costs that could have been twice as high, if the outage had been malicious. More robust change management and a strategic approach could have mitigated this far-reaching crisis.
Trend 5: Real-time governance dashboards enable strategic agility
The quarterly board meeting model is being disrupted by real-time governance capabilities that enable continuous oversight and more agile decision-making.
Governance platforms like Diligent provide unified dashboards that consolidate risk data, performance metrics, and compliance status into real-time visualization tools. Only 23% of boards currently make moderate use of AI-powered dashboards for risk oversight, despite enhanced use of AI-powered technology ranking third among strategies to improve board oversight.
These capabilities enable boards to identify emerging issues quickly, track strategic initiatives, and respond to market changes with unprecedented speed and accuracy.
Trend 6: Corporations need to nurture and attract young talent
The workplace will transform over the coming years. 58% of the global workforce will be Millennials or younger by 2030, many of whom were hired during the pandemic and have primarily worked remotely. Job hopping — switching jobs frequently — has also emerged as a break from traditional corporate culture.
“They’ve never been in an office. They don’t know what corporate culture looked like pre-pandemic because they’re not a part of that history,” says Schindlinger.
As a result, talent, risk and culture have dominated the board agenda. Businesses are grappling with significant demographic shifts as baby boomers near retirement and new generations take their place. Additionally, board and C-suite succession may become challenging as experienced board directors near retirement without qualified younger talent to replace them.
Companies should start nurturing young talent by considering which tools and structures can facilitate innovation and mentoring; many organizations are renaming committees to highlight “talent” and “culture.” This includes thinking about job hopping differently.
“Rather than saying they only stay for two years, you say, hey, this person stayed for two full years,” says Schindlinger.
Boards must also think beyond tradition and consider whether hybrid work models that appeal to young talent can bolster the productivity their organizations need.
“Boards should be asking: What do we need to do differently? What are the tools we have in place to keep everyone connected? How do we keep the board connected?” says Schlindlinger.
Looking ahead, tools like Diligent Messengercan keep the board connected and engaged in strategic conversations about talent. Using these tools advances conversations about nurturing young talent rather than waiting for board meetings.
Trend 7: Board effectiveness measurement drives competitive advantage
Despite growing emphasis on board effectiveness, significant gaps remain in evaluation practices. Leading organizations are achieving measurable improvements through comprehensive evaluation frameworks, while many boards struggle with assessment processes that fail to drive meaningful change.
The root challenge lies in execution, not intention. While 88% of directors trust their board to effectively assess its own performance, and 74% say their board leader effectively deals with underperforming directors, there's a critical disconnect. Among directors who view their assessment process as ineffective, 44% attribute it to members being insufficiently invested in the process itself.
To take this corporate governance trend seriously, boards must commit to thorough, confidential evaluationsthat foster honest dialogue and translate insights into tangible actions. This requires full participation from every member and a commitment to implement changes based on the evaluation findings.
External market, regulatory and political factors shaping governance now
Factor 1: Political dynamics reshape ESG governance approaches
Many view the UN's 2004 Who Cares Wins report as the document that made environmental, social and governance (ESG)mainstream. While ESG principles remain important, the political scene has significantly complicated implementation and strategic positioning.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have different opinions on ESG and, as a result, different ideas about what constitutes good governance. The 2024 U.S. presidential election only underscores the worldwide shift to the right, opening the door to changes in ESG policy and governance more broadly.
“A political party comes in and sweeps away what was existing, a trend seen over the past decade, especially in the U.S. This makes the job of corporate boards increasingly difficult," says Schindlinger.
Now, modern boards will likely have to chart their paths forward individually, toeing the line between complying with the SEC, other regulatory bodies and the Trump administration while meeting the expectations of their shareholders and customers.
Political winds in the U.S. are shifting, which might upend existing focus on sustainability in the States. However, most other major economies in the world are increasingly focused on climate change.
Factor 2: Boards are facing increased scrutiny from all sides
In the post-universal proxy era, shareholders continue to hold boards accountable — often in surprising ways. Governance proposals increased for the first time in recent years during the 2024 proxy season, as did compensation proposals.
Support for say-on-pay proposals also remained high, underscoring shareholders’ desire to have their voices heard. The universal proxy process has also opened doors for unions following recent high-profile strikes, with many unions submitting more proposals in 2024 than they did in years prior.
Proxy season also echoed the political unrest many organizations have faced in the past year. Anti-ESG proposals soared, even though support for them has not. Companies submitted no-action requests in connection with 43% of proposals from anti-ESG proponents, compared to 25% for others.
Boards can prepare for these shareholder-centric trends in corporate governance by continuing to align closely with theirshareholders’ expectations. Consider why shareholders invest in your company and their goals beyond profitability, then offer transparency around board decision-making in those areas. A company-specific strategy for engaging with shareholders around key issues can avoid unrest.
Factor 3: Regulatory compliance costs create strategic pressures
Regulatory compliance is a growing challenge for mid-market companies facing disproportionate cost burdens. American businesses spend approximately $300 billion annually on regulatory compliance, but these costs are distributed unevenly across company sizes.
For enterprise organizations, the challenge isn't just cost — it's the exponential complexity of managing compliance across multiple jurisdictions, business units, and regulatory frameworks simultaneously. Only 4% of governance leaders globally say their GRC and financial systems are fully integrated for transactions, while 97% report facing at least one major challenge in being transaction-ready.
Global enterprises face overlapping requirements from dozens of agencies while navigating different regulatory approaches across international markets, creating administrative overhead that can overwhelm even well-resourced compliance teams.
Factor 4: Stakeholders want greater CEO oversight
Consumer skepticism about CEO compensation isn’t new. Many consumers and even many shareholders believe CEOs are overcompensated. More transparent compensation packages can counter this scrutiny, but CEOs will likely remain in the spotlight.
Over the past year, boards and executives have taken that attention seriously. In PwC’s Annual Corporate Directors Survey, 71% said their boards took action related to shareholder activism in 2024. This action has largely been driven by boards’ desire to engage with shareholders proactively. In fact, 26% of directors say they also revised compensation structures to keep with shareholder expectations.
Now, shareholders will want to see CEOs performing, specifically making what shareholders see as the “right” decision to maximize returns. At the same time, rising inflation and supply chain issues have renewed the call for corporations and their CEOs to act ethically and responsibly.
Growth strategies are also a top priority. Pursuing growth through M&A and strategic partnerships is listed as the top organizational priority for 2026 and ranks third on board agenda items, according to the 2026 What Directors Think report.
Other global trends in corporate governance to watch in 2026
AI regulations worldwide are evolving with significant jurisdictional differences
Global AI regulations are fragmenting quickly, with different regions pursuing distinct approaches that create complex compliance challenges for multinational organizations. The EU AI Act is the most comprehensive current framework, with fines up to €35 million or 7% of worldwide turnover, and staged obligations now entering enforcement.
This regulatory fragmentation creates challenges for enterprise organizations operating across multiple jurisdictions. Companies must navigate varying requirements for AI governance, risk assessment, and transparency while maintaining operational efficiency.
Geopolitical tensions remain a challenge
The Russia–Ukraine conflict continues to strain Europe’s economy via energy shocks and higher security, refugee and energy‑independence spending, reinforcing the need for continuous monitoring. These geopolitical dynamics create complex risk assessment challenges that require continuous monitoring and strategic adaptation.
Top risks for GCs now include changes in the regulatory environment, tariffs/trade, geopolitical conflicts, inflation, workforce management, and technology adoption/implementation. Overall risk levels for GCs have risen from 5.8/10 to 7.9/10 in Q1–Q3 of this year, and 84% of boards have changed their scenario planning approach in the last five years due to heightened risk, according to the 2026 What Directors Think report from the Diligent Institute.
For organizations with global operations, supply chain governance has become a critical board-level concern. In fact, CEOs now identify supply chain issues as a top business risk, reflecting increasing complexity and vulnerability of global networks.
Regional economic pressures create governance adaptation requirements
Different regions face distinct economic pressures that influence governance practices. Health crises continue to challenge Africa's economic growth, while emigration and political instability shape Latin America's business landscape. China's economic posture influences operations throughout the Indo-Pacific region, creating strategic complexities for multinational organizations.
These regional variations require sophisticated risk assessment capabilities and flexible governance frameworks that can adapt to local conditions.
Trade policy uncertainties demand adaptive governance frameworks
The Trump administration's trade policies are creating immediate governance challenges for multinational corporations. While tariffs on China have been temporarily paused, the administration has implemented sweeping tariff increases on other trading partners, with threats of additional measures that could reshape global supply chains.
These policy shifts require governance frameworks capable of scenario planning and rapid strategic adaptation. The interconnected nature of global commerce means that U.S. trade policy changes cascade through supply chains and affect organizations worldwide, forcing boards to prepare for multiple potential scenarios simultaneously.
Historical corporate governance trends
| Year | Trend 1 | Trend 2 | Trend 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | AI accountability and enforcement become board mandates as EU AI Act obligations and penalties enter practice | Cross‑border trade and tariff oversight rises on board compliance agendas amid 2025 U.S. actions and evolving country/sector rates | Cyber/data‑privacy resilience is treated as a top strategic risk in several regions |
| 2025 | AI governance platforms separate leaders from laggards | Real-time dashboards enable strategic board agility | Cybersecurity governance becomes board-level imperative |
| 2024 | AI regulations worldwide shape the adoption of this technology | The global rise of the far-right shifts political and economic priorities away from ESG and toward traditional metrics | Ongoing conflicts between Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine divide countries and stress the supply chain |
| 2023 | The universal proxy challenges boards to align with shareholders | AI begins to transform the business landscape | Rolling layoffs and hiring freezes impact availability of talent |
| 2022 | Increased standards for sustainability reporting | Rising gender diversity on corporate boards | Greater emphasis on board effectiveness |
| 2021 | Focus on environmental and social issues | Importance of corporate social impact | Board oversight of company culture |
| 2020 | Expansion of remote working | Ethnic and racial diversity on boards | Scrutiny around executive compensation |
| 2019 | Push for greater board quality and performance | Using governance as a tool to add value for investors | ESG took center stage for boards and investors |
| 2018 | Expectation for investors to influence corporate strategy | Increasing engagement with activist investors | Continued focus on board composition |
| 2017 | Push for more uniform governance practices | Holding boards accountable to long-term performance | Expecting the board to oversee a wider range of business activities |
| 2016 | Investor skepticism about individual board directors | Increased governance regulations to boost transparency | Surging shareholder engagement around ESG issues |
Your board needs technology grounded in an AI-driven foundation for the future
Winning organizations now treat professional governance technology infrastructure as core to board performance — converting administrative work into speed, clarity and trust. Traditional methods can’t keep pace with expanding regulation and rising expectations; modern platforms must streamline prep, strengthen risk oversight and elevate decision quality.
The most effective platforms deliver measurable impact across three areas: intelligent document management to accelerate board preparation, advanced risk detection to flag issues before distribution, and strategic intelligence that prepares directors with personalized insight.
1. Intelligent document management and board preparation
Today’s board platforms like Diligent Boards pair a best‑in‑class portal with GovernAI to radically reduce prep time and improve quality: AI‑powered board book summaries, automated minutes and action‑item capture, plus personalized preparation tuned to each director’s committees, expertise and history.
Add the newest workflow accelerators:
- Smart Builder now supports global data residency (U.K., Germany/EU, Australia), direct Excel/CSV ingest as source material, and a rich text editor with best‑practice templates — so teams generate polished, on‑brand materials faster, with flexible section numbering and pagination.
- Diligent Data Room (Boards‑integrated VDR) keeps sensitive work organized and under control with AI document summaries, enforceable NDAs, custom watermarks, granular permissions, engagement analytics, participant privacy controls and real‑time notifications; you can also build board books faster with drag‑and‑drop when assembling from Data Room folders.
- NetSuite ERP integration and best‑practice templates cut creation and distribution time by up to 60%, while keeping everything secure and audit‑ready.
What’s new in practice:
- Faster prep with GovernAI, tighter collaboration between meetings (secure messaging, streamlined voting/approvals) and mobile enhancements — so directors stay productive on the move.
2. Advanced risk detection and compliance monitoring
Boards need continuous, contextual monitoring — not just manual reviews. Smart Risk Scanner brings AI‑assisted, policy‑aware scanning into board materials to flag legal, compliance and operational risks before distribution, aligned to industry standards and governance best practices; it’s now live for all GovernAI customers.
Compliance workloads are rising: 82% of GCs expect greater use of technology (including AI) for monitoring and regulatory tracking next year; 73% expect more emphasis on internal audits and compliance monitoring; and 77% anticipate higher emphasis on policy reviews.
What good looks like:
- Contextual risk cues with suggested remediation or alternative language that preserves intent while reducing exposure — so issues are resolved before packets go out.
3. Strategic intelligence and meeting enhancement
High‑performing boards arrive prepared with targeted insight. Smart Prep Insights and Smart Book Summary analyze current materials and history to surface personalized insights and strategic questions for each director, backed by automated summaries and cross‑document correlation that reveals connections a manual read may miss.
Add live context and faster inputs:
- S&P Global Market Intelligence is embedded where directors already work — bringing peer benchmarks, stock performance, analyst targets and earnings sentiment into the workflow.
- Through NetSuite, finance leaders flow Cash, AR and AP into board‑ready formats so time shifts from spreadsheets to strategy.
- Mobile‑first questionnaires let directors complete D&O, conflicts and assessments on any device, keeping annual cycles on track.
Why this matters now
With integrations, best‑practice templates and AI assistance, professional governance infrastructure moves boards from retrospective reporting to forward‑looking oversight — helping leaders act at the speed of business while navigating risk and regulatory complexity with confidence.
Transform your board governance in 2026
Make 2026 your most effective year with Diligent Boards. Cut prep time, strengthen oversight and elevate decision-making with features like Diligent Data Room, Smart Builder and more.
Schedule your 20‑minute product tour to see it in action.
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