Driving the Board Agenda in 2026: How Leaders Should Prepare
Boards heading into 2026 must operate in an environment unlike any that most leaders have previously encountered, according to a report by KPMG.
A convergence of economic uncertainty, rapid technological disruption, heightened cybersecurity threats and intensifying sustainability pressures continues to reshape boardroom priorities worldwide.
According to the report, few business leaders have faced the scale and complexity of risks confronting companies today.
Economic fragility, recession risk, rising costs of capital, accelerating advances in AI, escalating cyber threats, climate severity and persistent policy gridlock combine to create a volatile backdrop for decision-making.
In response, stakeholders increasingly expect boards to provide greater transparency and disclosure, particularly around how they oversee strategy and risk. KPMG emphasises that pressure on boards and management teams will intensify.
Reassessing the board’s role in strategy
KPMG says that the unprecedented mix of uncertainty, volatility and risk requires deeper and more active board engagement in strategy.
Directors must focus more intently on scenario planning, agility, crisis readiness and organisational resilience.
Shifting geopolitical dynamics, including policy positions on trade, tariffs, immigration, taxation and regulation, continue to reshape the global economic and risk landscape, alongside legal challenges to government actions.
At the same time, ongoing military conflicts, the move away from global convergence toward fragmentation and rising risks of recession, inflation and domestic polarisation add layers of complexity.
In this environment, the report notes that boards must play a more proactive role in strategy by adopting forward-looking governance practices. Leaders should help management develop a vivid picture of possible future scenarios, even when transformational change makes prediction difficult.
KPMG encourages boards to dedicate time to focused and urgent “what-if” discussions, placing AI, human capital and supply chains at the centre of strategic debate.
Scenario planning also remains essential. The report advises boards to ensure that management properly resources these processes, uses high-quality data, considers a wide range of external perspectives and revisits scenarios regularly.
Boards should also integrate risk management, crisis planning and resilience into strategic discussions. Because no strategy can anticipate every disruption, directors must help management reassess risks continuously and understand their implications for strategy and capital allocation.
KPMG also urges boards to strike a careful balance between short-term responsiveness and long-term vision. While agility matters in uncertain conditions, boards must guard against short-termism and keep their focus on sustainable value creation and organisational endurance.
Sustaining a healthy board-CEO relationship
A strong board-CEO relationship remains central to effective governance. KPMG describes the need for “healthy tension” in the boardroom, where directors and leaders advise and challenge management while maintaining independence and objectivity.
Heightened pressure on boards and CEOs makes this balance harder to achieve but more important than ever.
Based on its discussions with directors, KPMG identifies three priorities:
- Boards must insist on candour and transparency to build trust and confidence. CEOs set the tone for management with the board, and both sides should expect no surprises.
- Boards should clearly communicate that their role extends beyond compliance to ongoing strategic engagement and support.
- Boards must maintain a robust and evolving CEO succession planning process to reduce disruption risk and ensure leadership readiness.
Strengthening risk oversight
KPMG stresses that growing risk complexity requires a holistic approach to risk oversight. Investors, regulators, rating agencies and other stakeholders expect boards to explain how they oversee risks related to climate, cybersecurity, AI, human capital, consumer trends and sustainability.
Boards should regularly assess the effectiveness of enterprise risk management processes and maintain a shared view of critical risks with management.
KPMG also advises boards to clearly define risk oversight responsibilities across committees, identify overlaps and establish structures that promote coordination and information sharing.
The report concludes that delivering the 2026 board agenda will present a significant oversight challenge.
Boards will need strong leadership, the right mix of skills and experience, effective committee structures, continuous director education and rigorous evaluations to meet the demands of a volatile and fast-changing world.
