When ratios don’t improve, the probability of regulators stepping in increases.

Chairman Elisse Walter highlights changes in auditing; NACD National Audit Committee Chair Advisory Council outlines areas of focus.

Data from a recent nonprofit governance survey show a shift in board emphasis to strategy and performance.

Interlocks are increasingly not a main motivator of executive compensation packages.

Uncertainty trumped optimism in NACD’s Q4 2012 Board Confidence Index results, reflecting fiscal cliff concerns.

Despite increased requirements, the average board size has remained relatively constant over the past five years.

In 2012, the composition of the NACD Directorship 100 mirrors that of the newly elected Congress.

NACD introduced a number of measures to enhance directors’ independence, objectivity and skepticism in their oversight roles.

NACD Chairman Barbara Hackman Franklin opened the 2012 NACD Board Leadership Conference with a call to restore public trust in capitalism.

Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini discussed the Affordable Care Act and how it will affect U.S. businesses with NACD Managing Director and Senior Advisor Jeffrey Cunningham.

Board composition should reflect the company’s stakeholders, employees and customers.

FASB Chairman Leslie F. Seidman discussed the Board’s convergence project and disclosure reporting standards.

Companies that lengthened compensation disclosures following failed say-on-pay votes did not benefit from the additional words.

Federal Reserve Regulation YY applies to bank holding companies with consolidated assets of $50 billion or more, and domestic non-bank holding companies the Treasury’s Financial Stability Oversight Counsel says pose a “grave threat” to financial stability.

NACD’s Board Confidence Index dropped eight points in the second quarter of 2012 to its second lowest score in the history of the survey.

Boards must strike a balance between facilitating fresh ideas and recruiting experienced directors.

NACD’s Board Confidence Index rose to 60.6 in the first quarter of 2012, up 13 points from its lowest point in the third quarter of 2011. This surge in confidence was largely buoyed by directors’ improved perception of economic progress made in both the short and long term.

U.S. presidents, the European Central Bank, six percent of America’s corporate boards and potentially external auditors use term limits.

Director confidence mirrored the economy’s slow but steady recovery in Q4 2011.

An amended Rule 14a-8 could allow shareholder access to the boardroom, despite the rejection of the more prominent “proxy access rule.”