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EMEIA board priorities 2025

Andrew Hobbs Andrew Hobbs

EY EMEIA Public Policy Leader

Contributors

28 minute read 11 Mar 2025
Related topics
Assurance
Audit
Sustainability

How boards can shape the future with confidence.

In brief

  • Geopolitics is still a major agenda item for EMEIA boards due to rising tensions.
  • Boards are focused on technology – especially transformation and cybersecurity – as they support their organizations to seize opportunities and manage risk.
  • Robust and timely information, expert advice, and the skills to question management are all critical for boards.

Boards across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) continue to operate in highly challenging market conditions. Geopolitical tensions have further heightened since 2024, while interest rates remain elevated and a major pick-up in global growth looks unlikely in the near term.

To add to these challenges, boards are still navigating what may seem like an endless wave of regulation. They are also trying to understand how artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies can transform their organization’s business model and enhance its competitiveness.

Sustainability remains another focus area as boards consider how they can use their organization’s reporting to inform its strategy for long-term value creation. Additionally, there are key workforce factors to reflect on — including skills shortages, changing demographics and the need to train people in the use of new technological tools.

EY teams have conducted qualitative research to identify board priorities in 2025, how board members can best support their organizations over the next 12 months, and which questions they should be asking of management teams. The research also explores boards’ likely priorities in five years’ time so they can scan the horizon and develop the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in future.

The EMEIA Board Priorities 2025 is based on in-depth interviews with EY professionals, including the EY Center for Board Matters, as well as Rachael Johnson, Global Head of Risk Management and Corporate Governance for Policy and Insights at Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA.) Additionally, the research draws on data from the risk section Global Economic Conditions Surveys (2024).

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1

Chapter 1

Geopolitical volatility and resilience

In this era of heightened political tension and economic uncertainty, boards must consider new risks and opportunities.

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Widespread geopolitical and economic uncertainty is arguably the greatest challenge facing boards in EMEIA today. This includes the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, heightened political tensions and disrupted global supply chains last year.

 

There are three key trends that could further test the financial and operational resilience of organizations in 2025, according to the EY 2025 Geopolitical Outlook.

 

“The first trend is the shift from elections to policy making as new governments implement the policies they were elected to deliver last year,” says Famke Krumbmüller, Leader of the EY EMEIA Geostrategic Business Group. Secondly, economic competition and sovereignty remains a major theme as governments look to secure their sovereignty through industrial policies and trade protectionism, including tariffs. The third trend is the continuation of political tension, which is likely to further disrupt supply chains.”

 

EMEIA-based respondents to the ACCA and IMA Global Economic Conditions Surveys (2024) ranked the issue of “economic inflation, recession and interest rates” as their highest risk priority in the fourth quarter of 2024. More than a fifth (21%) of respondents from the region included it among their top three risk priorities.


“We also see the decoupling of the world economy – a shift away from a connected, globalized model to a more localized model,” says Simon Edel, EY-Parthenon Strategy and Transactions Partner, Ernst & Young LLP. “Boards should be aware of the operational implications of decoupling in terms of currency movements, supply chains and market demand.”

This complex and volatile geopolitical context creates significant financial risks for organizations in EMEIA – risks that can be hard to forecast. Potential risks include having to refinance debt at higher interest rates and changes in global trade flows negatively impacting revenues and profits. These financial risks cannot be addressed purely through efficiencies and better cash management, says Andreas Warner, Partner, EY Strategy & Transactions GmbH. “In this difficult environment, organizations need to think more broadly,” he says. “Very often, a thorough strategy review is required, which might also lead to adjusting the business portfolio by carving out and selling part of the business.”

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2

Chapter 2

Shaping tomorrow's workforce

Boards can help their organizations to respond to talent-related challenges in an evolving employment landscape.

Some significant trends are transforming the employment landscape in EMEIA, creating opportunities and challenges. These trends include the continued adoption of remote and hybrid work models, technological advances, and a shortage of skilled workers in many industries.

Additionally, today’s employment landscape is defined by a greater focus on health and wellbeing, as well as some notable demographic shifts. More Gen Zs are entering the workforce while the overall workforce is aging due to greater life expectancy and declining birth rates.

“Talent scarcity, skills gaps and employee retention” was highlighted as the second-highest risk priority by EMEIA-based respondents to the ACCA and IMA Global Economic Conditions Surveys (2024) during the fourth quarter of last year. Nearly a fifth (19%) of respondents from the region put it in their top three.

The employment market is undergoing significant changes. By understanding these changes, boards can help their organizations to prepare for the future and create a more dynamic workforce.

Zhanna Dobritskaya

EY EMEIA Area Managing Partner, Talent, Ernst & Young Accountants B.V.

“The employment market is undergoing significant changes driven by digital transformation, sustainability, demographic shifts and evolving work preferences,” says Zhanna Dobritskaya, EY EMEIA Area Managing Partner, Talent, Ernst & Young Accountants B.V. “By understanding these trends, boards can help their organizations to better prepare for the future and create a more dynamic, inclusive and resilient workforce.”

For example, the effective integration of new AI-enabled tools into workflows should be a particular focus. Also, employees may be resistant to adopt new tools over fears of job losses to technology. So, it is critical to address these fears through communication and by committing to a human-centric approach that puts people at the heart of transformation.

The EY 2024 Work Reimagined Survey found that 38% of employees say they are likely to quit in the next year. As a result, talent attraction and retention must be a priority for boards in 2025.

Going forward, Dobritskaya believes that the most resilient organizations will move away from a traditional approach to talent management that focuses on formal education credentials and a linear career journey. Instead, they will adopt a skills-based approach where employees are encouraged to develop future-focused skills and competencies, and embrace flexible job roles and career paths. 

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3

Chapter 3

Technology, digital transformation and cybersecurity

As technological advances continue at pace, organizations face greater regulatory scrutiny.

AI and other emerging technologies are reshaping the business landscape. EY analysis estimates that the GenAI revolution alone could increase global GDP by US$1.7 trillion to US$3.4 trillion over the next decade and meaningfully impact more than half the global workforce.

Accordingly, one of the greatest opportunities – and challenges – for boards today is overseeing the implementation of AI systems. Boards should consider how the organization’s approach to AI integrates with its overall purpose and strategy. It is important to review whether the implementation of new AI tools would support the organization’s existing strategy or whether rapid advances in AI merit a strategic rethink.


One of the greatest opportunities for boards today is overseeing AI implementation. They must consider how AI aligns with the organization's purpose and strategy and whether it merits a strategic rethink.

 

Related content

To thrive into the future, organizations will need to capture value from AI systems by developing revenue-generating AI products and services. Yet, this is a challenge at present. “While many organizations have pilots underway, we see few fully implemented solutions that are delivering a positive financial impact for the business,” says Dr Eva-Marie Muller-Stuler, EY MENA Data & AI Consulting Leader, Ernst & Young Middle East. “At the same time, organizations worry about being overtaken by competitors if they don’t invest in AI.” 

 

Organizations must comply with all data and technology-related rules in the markets where they operate. Around the world, jurisdictions are introducing AI-specific legislation and guidance, with the EU’s AI Act a frontrunner in AI regulation globally. Cybersecurity and data privacy are also under regulatory scrutiny, with regulators increasingly focused on digital resilience in the event of a cyber attack.

 

Digital resilience (via US ey.com) is crucial for protecting critical business systems and infrastructure and minimizing the risks of physical and operational disruption. So, boards will want to make sure that cyber risk management is integrated into their organization’s overall enterprise risk management framework and that external dependencies – including dependencies on third-party suppliers – are understood and assessed for vulnerabilities. The organization should also consider how digital resilience could be impacted by a physical incident such as an extreme weather event or the activities of a state actor (e.g., the cutting of an undersea cable). 

 

Diverse teams can design systems that meet the needs and expectations of the organization’s stakeholders and minimize the risks. “Cyber risk management involves very, very complex problems,” says Lutz Naake, Assurance Technology Risk Partner, EY GmbH & Co. KG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft. “So, you need people who understand the business, understand the technology and understand the processes. If you have a diverse set of people, you’re likelier to get all those skills.” 

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4

Chapter 4

Sustainability integration

Boards can help their organizations to rethink their decarbonization direction and discover new or enhanced business models.

How EY can Help

To futureproof their organizations, EMEIA boards must provide effective oversight around the transition to sustainable business models. Research by the EY New Economy Unit, Beyond sustainability as usual, highlights five key principles for a sustainable future. These principles are:

  • Sufficiency – developing products and services based on needs
  • Circular business models – aligning production and consumption with natural ecosystems
  • Systems thinking – evaluating impacts across the value chain
  • People and planet – prioritizing wellbeing in value creation
  • Equity and justice – ensuring shared and lasting prosperity

 

While organizations typically have big ambitions around sustainability, the 2024 EY Global Corporate Reporting Survey reveals some significant challenges. Only 47% of finance leaders believe it very likely that their organization will meet major sustainability priorities, including net zero targets. 

 

Furthermore, the 2024 EY Climate Action Barometer finds that less than half (41%) of large companies worldwide have published a transition plan for climate change mitigation. This may be because companies are wary of divulging sensitive commercial information or exposing themselves to greenwashing allegations or litigation. Alternatively, they may be struggling to take sufficient action on climate due to the high level of investment required and the uncertain political and regulatory environment.  

 

Recently, organizations have been so heavily focused on compliance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and other sustainability reporting rules that finding spare capacity to address business model transformation is difficult. As sustainability reporting evolves into a business-as-usual activity over time, organizations will be able to shift their attention from compliance to action and use reporting to better integrate sustainability into their business models.

 

“Boards will now have an opportunity to push more accountability into the business,” says Rebecca Donnellan, Partner in Climate Change and Sustainability, Ernst & Young LLP. “So, there’s a lot of focus on having proper action plans that sit behind targets. Boards are also looking at whether they have the right fundamentals in place to meet those targets, in terms of people and budgets.”

 

Jan Niewold, EY EMEIA Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader, Ernst & Young Accountants B.V., believes not having access to the right people and skills is hindering organizations’ ability to deliver on their sustainability strategies. “When I speak to boards, they say their main challenge is people,” he says. “They need to find the right people who are capable of embedding sustainability within the business.”

 

Another challenge for boards, highlighted by Dr Matthew Bell, EY Global Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader, is balancing short-term operational pressures with the longer-term transition to a more sustainable economy. This is made more difficult by what he describes as a “fundamental disconnect between our capital structures and working within planetary limits”. For that reason, it’s important that boards proactively engage with investors about their organization’s strategy for sustainability integration.

 

Leading effectively on the sustainability agenda will ultimately require boards to change their mindsets. “Sustainability is not just about adapting to the short-term reality of decarbonization,” says Rui Bastos, EY Global Risk Leader. “It’s also about the long-term reality of adapting to what a future world will look like.” 

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5

Chapter 5

Navigating compliance challenges and regulatory demands

Boards can support their organizations by providing effective oversight of regulatory risk.

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Boards are continuing to navigate a complex and ever-evolving regulatory environment, both in their home jurisdictions and globally. Due to the fragmented nature of sustainability regulation, it is becoming increasingly hard for organizations to gain and maintain competitive advantage over rivals based in markets with less prescriptive regulation. This creates an unlevel playing field for organizations that operate on a global scale – a strategic challenge that boards are having to address.

 

This explains why “regulatory, compliance and legal” was highlighted as the third-highest risk priority in the fourth quarter of 2024 by EMEIA-based respondents to the ACCA and IMA Global Economic Conditions Surveys (2024). Overall, 15% of respondents from the region put it in their top three.

 

For large organizations that are based or operate in the EU, compliance with the CSRD is a major challenge since it marks the greatest shake-up in corporate reporting in decades. Organizations are at different stages on their journey toward compliance, depending on whether they are reporting in 2025, during the first phase, or later. Certain EU countries have been slow to transpose the CSRD into local law, meaning that implementation is more advanced in some markets than in others.

 

CSRD reporting is not the only sustainability reporting requirement that boards must oversee, however. “As well as complying with the CSRD, organizations must comply with mandatory sustainability reporting rules in other jurisdictions where they operate,” says Isabelle Tracq-Sengeissen, EY Global Sustainability Professional Practice Director. “These include rules based on the sustainability disclosure standards issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board.” 

As well as complying with the CSRD, organizations must comply with mandatory sustainability reporting rules in other jurisdictions where they operate.

Isabelle Tracq-Sengeissen

EY Global Sustainability Professional Practice Director

Organizations are also preparing to comply with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which is being phased in from July 2027 onwards. Compliance with the directive is a major challenge, particularly for large companies that have thousands of suppliers worldwide.

“Under the CSDDD, companies have a civil liability for their chain of activities,” says Stephan Geiger, ESG Leader for Financial Services, Ernst & Young AG. “So, they need to dig deep to get to know their suppliers. While the CSDDD is creating some nervousness, it’s also an opportunity for companies to engage with their business partners and create positive narratives for their brand.”

On the topic of cybersecurity, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) aims to strengthen the IT security of EU financial entities by harmonizing the rules on operational resilience for the financial sector. Applied since 17 January 2025, DORA requires financial companies to have a comprehensive information, communication and technology (ICT) risk management framework and mechanisms to quickly detect and report ICT-related incidents to the relevant regulator. Technology providers that serve the financial sector are also within scope of the rules. These include providers of cloud computing, data analytics, data center and software services.

“For financial services companies, the big challenge is how do you now interact with your ecosystem,” says Jack Armstrong, Operational Resilience Leader, Ernst & Young LLP. “What are the enhanced data items you will need from your partners to report to the regulator? How will you work together? How will you test? Because you will need to join up with them to make sure your value chain is resilient.”

Another significant regulation aimed at digital resilience is the EU’s Network and Information Security 2 (NIS2) Directive, which expands on the EU’s previous NIS directive. NIS2 requires companies in critical sectors – including digital infrastructure, energy and financial services – to enhance their security measures, address the security of their supply chains and report any cyber incidents to the relevant authorities.  

While regulation has increased substantially over the past few years, a new trend is starting to emerge: deregulation. To boost European competitiveness, the EU has vowed to launch a “simplification revolution”, with the aim of drastically reducing the administrative, regulatory and reporting burdens on businesses while maintaining climate goals. The proposed Omnibus Simplification package aims to consolidate the EU Taxonomy, the CSRD and the CSDDD into a single regulation. In many respects a welcome development, it potentially presents new challenges for boards.

“Organizations are still setting up their internal controls and risk processes that support sustainability reporting,” says Tim Volkman, EY EMEIA Deputy Public Policy Leader. “So, while there may be some reduction in the reporting burden on boards in the medium to long term, currently there is a risk that simplification will bring more confusion and uncertainty.”

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6

Chapter 6

Board priorities in 2030

Which issues will be topping the board agenda in five years’ time?

Organizations and their boards are having to navigate constantly evolving challenges and opportunities. These are some of the key issues that could dominate board agendas in five years’ time: 

  1. Selective globalization. As the shift to a more divided, multipolar world continues, potentially bringing trade wars and heightened security concerns, organizations may come under pressure to de-risk their supply chains. This would involve working more closely with suppliers in “friendly” jurisdictions. Pressure to “friendshore” is likely to be greater if an organization operates in a sector deemed strategic by its government.
  2. The multi-generational workforce. Talent management is likely to be an even more pronounced issue in five years’ time as older workers constitute a larger share of the overall workforce. Boards will need to consider how they can continually reskill and upskill talent so that their workforce is equipped to use new technological tools and thrive in a fast-changing world. 
  3. AI-powered transformation. AI is evolving rapidly and will probably absorb board attention for some time. By 2030, boards are likely to be focusing on the strategic aspects of AI, including the potential for different use cases. They are also likely to explore the use cases for blockchain and quantum computing. Additionally, AI tools are set to enter the boardroom itself.
  4. Value creation. By 2030, sustainability should be embedded into organizational strategy and incorporated in a broad definition of value that combines financial, environmental and social matters. Furthermore, while organizations will be scrutinized over their decarbonization strategies, they will also increasingly be held to account over their social license to operate. Organizations will be expected to have a positive societal impact in a range of different areas from public health and wellbeing through to environmental protection, cybersecurity and talent upskilling. The chief financial officer of the organization may evolve into a chief value officer.
  5. Regulation, deregulation and regulatory fragmentation. Boards are used to regulation. By 2030, however, they will need to navigate a challenging combination of regulation, deregulation and regulatory fragmentation across a range of areas from cybersecurity through to sustainability and tax.

How should boards evolve to succeed in the future?

By 2030, boards should have evolved their operating models to access a broader bank of knowledge, perspectives and skills outside of the traditional board and committee model. Options include getting regular updates from internal and external experts on hot topics, appointing internal and external advisers with specific domain expertise, and setting up taskforces and independent councils. Shadow boards can be an effective way of engaging with a broad cross-section of the workforce. 

Boards will also need to enhance their own knowledge and skillsets to be successful in future. They will need to build capacity on key topics including geopolitics, regulation and technology so they are aware of potential opportunities and risks. Additionally, boards should develop skills in critical thinking and self-reflection and have a general sense of curiosity. They should understand what each board member brings to the table in terms of experience and strengths and be willing to review their composition to bring in new knowledge and skills as needed. In response to changing societal expectations, boards will also need to become more empathetic and more accessible to their stakeholders. 

Our thanks go to all those who contributed their insights for this report: Rachael Johnson, Global Head of Risk Management and Corporate Governance for Policy and Insights, ACCA, Jack Armstrong, Operational Resilience Leader, Ernst & Young LLP, Rui Bastos, EY Global Risk Leader, Dr Matthew Bell, EY Global Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader, Martijn De Jong, Governance Specialist NL & EMEIA Center for Board Matters, Ernst & Young Accountants B.V., Zhanna Dobritskaya, EMEIA Area Managing Partner, Talent, Ernst & Young Accountants B.V., Rebecca Donnellan, Partner in Climate Change and Sustainability, Ernst & Young LLP, Simon Edel, EY-Parthenon Strategy and Transactions Partner, Ernst & Young LLP, Stephan Geiger, ESG Leader for Financial Services, Ernst & Young AG, David Gonzalez Aparicio, Manager, Ernst & Young, S.L., Famke Krumbmüller, Leader of the EY EMEIA Geostrategic Business Group, Dr Eva-Marie Muller-Stuler, EY MENA Data & AI Consulting Leader, Ernst & Young Middle East, Lutz Naake, Assurance Technology Risk Partner, EY GmbH & Co. KG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Jan Niewold, EY EMEIA Climate Change and Sustainability Services Leader, Ernst & Young Accountants B.V., Isabelle Tracq-Sengeissen, EY Global Sustainability Professional Practice Director, Tim Volkman, EY EMEIA Deputy Public Policy Leader, Andreas Warner, Partner, EY Strategy & Transactions GmbH 

Summary

In 2025, EMEIA boards will continue to navigate a challenging geopolitical, economic and regulatory landscape. To support their organizations, they will need to provide effective oversight of business strategy and risk management. They should continue to stay well informed, seek expert advice and ask probing questions of management. 

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    About this article

    Andrew Hobbs Andrew Hobbs
    EY EMEIA Public Policy Leader
    Public policy leader focusing on talent, technology, corporate governance and corporate reporting. Father of four, cyclist and dabbling homebrewer.

    Contributors

    Related topics
    Assurance
    Audit
    Sustainability

    EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.