​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Have you ever had that terrible feeling after you hit send on an email questioning, “Did I just send that to the wrong person?” Or how about prior to hitting send thinking, “Maybe I shouldn’t be sending this email in the first place?” At some point, we have all experienced this feeling, yet, for every one o​f those circumstances that occur, we continue to send thousands of daily emails without a second thought.​


If you walked into a boardroom today compared to a decade ago you would notice a drastic cultural shift. With an increase in the oversight role of boards of directors paired with the everexpanding use of technology, discoverability risk and information governance are today’s hot topics that need to be top of mind for directors. 


One of the most critical risk areas is in the disseminating of board materials. Still, many companies rely on the basic technology of emailing information (sometimes password protected) or setting up a server from which directors can download confidential information. With this outdated practice, there can be many downsides ranging from security issues to accessibility control, in this piece we will focus on discoverability risk. 


What is discoverability risk?


Emailing information or allowing directors to download material directly from a server, though simple and relatively inexpensive, can expose board members to invasive searches of their private files and personal/business email accounts. The search may not end there if the files were downloaded to their personal devices, as all content on the board member’s computer is subject to search within the discovery process.​​​


Discoverability risk and information governance are today’s hot topics that need to be top of mind for directors.​



In today’s culture, technology is now at the forefront of every day life and the way business is conducted due to its high accessibility. Corporate directors, who are constantly on the go executing business transactions remotely, need instant access to confidential company information, documents and e-mail communications. This type of ‘on the go’ lifestyle makes the directors business and personal accounts more vulnerable to discovery. It is essential for companies to take precaution and also to be mindful of these types of risks and the increased chance for discovery into its director’s accounts.​

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​How do you reduce discoverability risk today? 


The answer is a secure platform designed specifically for board material dissemination. Board portals solve this problem by:


  • Retention policies that automate the removal of board material copies in line with company policies 
  • Providing the functionality to alert board members when information available 
  • Allowing directors to view real-time information without intruding in personal emails or other private information irrelevant to the company 
  • Giving secure offline access to all sensitive and confidential information with the added benefit of annotation and electronic signing capabilities​

As board portals continue to progress and develop over time, discoverability risk has also been reviewed and multiple levels of protection have been implemented within the technology. Board portal specialized technology helps avoid audit trails on electronic documents being opened and can purge personal annotations and discussions leading up to a meeting after a certain amount of time. These portals allow you to share your materials efficiently and securely while narrowing the focus of the discovery process strictly to the final version of the board materials and the meeting minute action items. 

A secure platform designed specifically for board material dissemination.​​


Computershare’s board portal software, BoardWorks, enables secure access to board materials allowing directors to make strategic business decisions faster. As the industry’s most preferred portal solution, directors can rest assure that confidential documents are shared securely through Computershare’s AT 101 and SSAE16 audited data facilities located in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia. Reduce discoverability risk by utilising BoardWorks, allowing directors to access and deliver board and reference materials in a format that is logical, easy to access and readily available. 

To learn more about how Computershare’s board portal, BoardWorks, can help you reduce your discoverability risk, schedule a demo today at www.cgsboardworks.com/schedule-demo​.​
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