Executive sessions may be held by independent directors for a number of reasons; depending on the organization’s culture and circumstances, certain issues require more candid, confidential conversations and consequently, a more limited audience. Used appropriately, executive sessions can be an important part of a board’s risk oversight process.

Our focus in this issue of Board Perspectives: Risk Oversight, is on how to use executive sessions as part of the board of director’s risk oversight process. These meetings present an opportunity for directors to obtain unfiltered input from selected executives, who otherwise might be influenced to couch or hold back on their responses to questions.