Corporate governance in 2026: Brace for another big year

Corporate governance in 2026: your outlook for the next twelve months and a complete rundown of what you need to know. 

The turbulence of the 2020s will continue; let’s just get that out of the way first. Not all of it will be negative; in fact, this decade is as much about leaps forward as it is about unexpected hurdles. Still, there’s no getting away from the fact that the next twelve months will continue to demand the best from directors and other corporate leaders if they’re to rise to the challenge of this dynamic, chaotic modern governance environment, which is so far gone from “business-as-usual”. 

Below, we dive deeper into the most pressing issues and trends for directors in 2026.

It’s no surprise that we start with AI. Just think of how much it’s changed the workplace since genAI became commonplace a few years ago. Up till now, though, we’ve been in a honeymoon phase. That phase is now over, meaning boards need to change their outlook from cautious optimism/experimentation and shift into rigorous governance mode. Don’t just produce a few slides’ worth of AI strategy and think it’s enough. 

Governance tech firm Diligent lists AI as a top board trend in 2026. It stresses that passive oversight just won’t cut it. Boards need to strive for active oversight in the form of quantifiable metrics (how it helps, where the issues lie, where the risk is, etc). 

Meanwhile, AI itself will continue its journey to becoming a powerful boardroom tool. The rest of the decade will see a rise in Agentic AI – systems that not only answer your questions, but carry out set tasks on your behalf. Expect this level of adoption to ramp up in 2026. If you’re not personally keen on it, one of your colleagues on the board will likely be. You’ll end up exploring it one way or another.

It’s always crucial for boards to look to the long term, but that mentality might be taking a back seat as directors respond to the more immediate nature of today’s challenges. 

Think about it: the period between 2022-2025 has brought us pandemic recovery, massive inflation, major wars sparking global geopolitical standoffs, and a rise in support for nationalist, protectionist politicans and higher tariffs. 

In 2026, the focus will be on strategic execution amid all this noise. 

The NACD 2026 Governance Outlook for next year reports that over 60% of directors now cite “strategy execution” as their top area for improvement. They know that many stakeholders will be extra-concerned with companies’ ability to respond to sudden shocks and maintain healthy profit margins. Long-term planning, while always important, just won’t enjoy the same level of focus at the minute.

We’re firmly in an era where every single board member has to make a difference. Although no one ever plans it, some boards may well have members who simply cannot contribute meaningfully, because there’s a mismatch between their skills and current challenges. 

PwC’s 2025 Annual Corporate Directors Survey revealed a record high of 55% of directors believe at least one peer should be replaced, citing a lack of meaningful contribution or necessary expertise. It was the first time this figure spilt into the “more than half” territory. 

Where are these skills gaps specifically? It will depend on the company and industry, but you can bet that many boards will lack expertise in AI, geopolitics and emergency financial planning scenarios. These are the issues that are challenging boards day in and day out.

Company culture is a complicated issue. For years, it has puzzled its board members, who criticise its lack of metrics compared to other, more “tangible” strategic goals. But there’s no ignoring the foundations that company culture creates. Moreover, there’s no ignoring the fact that when massive corporate scandals hit the headlines, investigations will always point to a lax culture as a prominent factor. 

Just look at Boeing’s troubles or the scandal at the UK Post Office. In both cases, while culture might not have been the first headline, reports and audits would eventually reveal it as a problem. 

Diligent’s corporate governance trends 2026 identifies expanding culture oversight as a critical trend, predicting that boards will increasingly utilise anonymised data analytics—such as internal sentiment mapping—to detect early warning signs.

Five years ago, companies often had to deal with the burden of new regulations. Now, the same companies have to deal with fragmented regulation as well, adding to the pressure. Since 2020, an average transatlantic company has added Brexit, stronger EU laws, and diverging rulebooks in Europe and the US to its list of challenges. 

In 2026, that fragmentation is expected to increase, as companies in Europe go further into compliance with key legislation like CSRD and the AI Act. Meanwhile, businesses both within and outside the United States will face continued threats from the Trump administration’s aggressive tariff policies, not to mention its openly interventionist ideology, if your firm gets caught in its spotlight. 

Within all this, there’s a liability shift. Directors are more responsible than ever before for assuring regulatory compliance. There’s no room for box-ticking in the modern boardroom; if you don’t ask the right questions when it counts, your company could pay the price later, and that could easily come down to you: the director who helped make the call.

2026 will bring more of the same disruptive energy that in some ways we’re used to, and in other ways we’re still trying to figure out. The convergence of technological disruption, geopolitical fracturing, and aggressive regulatory enforcement means the boardroom environment will remain chaotic for the foreseeable future.

Survival and success will depend on proactive engagement and a ruthlessly honest assessment of current board capabilities. If the prospect of navigating these five trends feels daunting, that’s normal. Your job is to ensure you and your colleagues have the right governance skills and experiences in place to navigate the uncertainty.