The Role of a Board Finance Committee

Host: TK Kerstetter
Guest: Cynthia Hostetler, Finance Committee Chair, Vulcan Materials Co.

Over the last several years, many boards have ventured well beyond just having the standard three board committees: Audit, Compensation, and Nominating/Governance. Since each company is quite unique, we have always encouraged boards to design committee structures that work best for them. However, it’s always helpful to hear how other boards arrived at the committee structures they did.

In this episode, we welcome Cynthia Hostetler, Board Member & Finance Committee Chair of Vulcan Materials Co., to share her own board’s story. Hostetler outlines the criteria that may qualify your board to consider a Finance committee. She also explains the function of the committee in relation to other traditional board committees.

"Another reason for having a Finance committee is if your Audit committee is quite overburdened," said Hostetler. "Some people will strip out the finance duties [that] are more forward-looking and form a Finance committee [for] strategy, forecasts, and acquisitions."

Speaking from her own experience, Hostetler outlines the various types of oversight that her board performs. In this episode:

What are the reasons a board may need a Finance committee?
What types of oversight does the Finance committee perform?
What mix of skills should the board recruit when forming a Finance committee?