Information overload in senior reporting
Make the decision question and material uncertainty visible. More information is not automatically better assurance.
The performance question
A large pack can make it harder to locate the matters requiring board judgement. That does not justify stripping out material risk or specialist evidence. Separate the essential decision narrative from supporting detail and make the source of important claims easy to find.
What the evidence supports
FRC Principle F calls for accurate, timely and clear information. HSE describes limited processing capacity and recommends assessing demands from documentation and displays. Together these support purposeful reporting, not an arbitrary page cap.[1][2]
A practical approach
For the next pack, require each paper to open with the decision or assurance requested, material changes, evidence and uncertainty. Put supporting calculations in a clearly linked appendix. Ask a reader unfamiliar with the topic to locate the key trade off and the proposed action without coaching.
How to review progress
Review clarification questions, late supplementary papers and decisions deferred for missing information. Check that shorter papers still support independent challenge. If essential detail becomes hard to reach, improve navigation rather than celebrating a lower page count.
Sources and references
- UK Corporate Governance Code 2024 Opens in a new tab
Financial Reporting Council
Application; Principles A, E, F, I, J and O; Provisions 2, 5, 6, 17, 28 and 29
- Human factors: Workload Opens in a new tab
Health and Safety Executive
Processing limits, task analysis, workload drift and staffing