Many people are calling for reform of corporate boards, especially in the financial services industry. They are certainly easy targets. Some directors may have a point when they complain that there is only so much they can do.

A commentary in Business Week by a partner of consultancy LVA Partners notes, "Both board members and senior managers complain that they are short of time, attention, and energy. They complain about the time reforms like Sarbanes-Oxley require. Many members report they spend all their time on reporting rather than thinking about the core business, talent depth, and the profound changes and fault lines in the larger economy. The average number of board meetings has inched up from 7 a year in 1998 to 8.7 in 2008."

As such, it's harder than ever to recruit top directors, especially for the audit committee. Clearly, the job has changed. Perhaps it's a good thing for expectations to be set early on. It's no longer the "great gig" it once was. 

For more:
- here's the commentary

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