Study Guide

The NACD Directorship Certification Study Guide, produced as a companion to NACD Directorship Certification™, acts as a comprehensive resource on core practices in corporate governance for both new and experienced directors. This guide aims to expose directors to the growing scope of board responsibilities, and helps them to identify which critical governance moments or dilemmas to expect throughout their board service. All guidance in this publication is adapted from NACD’s robust content library, which has been continually updated and refined since the association’s inception in 1977. 

Working in parallel with the experienced corporate directors who created the NACD certification exam, the NACD research staff has summarized board-relevant information into 19 key components of corporate governance that all directors should strive to master. Each topic presents readers with the following information to enhance their know-how and skills in the boardroom:

• Why the issue is important in the current environment

• Key elements of the issue, including the roles of the board and management

• Common challenges the board is likely to face

• A summary of guidance for directors to follow when providing oversight

• Definitions for governance terms

• A case study showing how boards might experience the issue in practice (select topics only)

• Questions for directors to ask

• Recommended NACD materials

The study guide is largely geared toward directors of US corporations—both public and private—although global directors and directors of nonprofits can also benefit from applying these leading governance standards to their boardroom practices.

Executive Summary

Preview the Study Guide

While the study guide is available exclusively to candidates for NACD Directorship Certification, we’ve provided a synopsis of topics covered in the full guide.