NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Almost half (47%) of corporate directors surveyed are dissatisfied with their boards' ability to provide information technology (IT) risk oversight. A recent Oliver Wyman / National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) survey of 204 corporate board members found that, while virtually all board members acknowledge that IT will have a significant business impact on the companies they govern over the next five years, more than half — 51% — say they are not given enough information to perform their oversight duties effectively.

Other findings highlighted in the report include:

• 36% of survey participants expect IT to improve operational efficiencies in the next five years.
• 30% believe IT will provide a competitive advantage for their companies in the next five years.
• 19% think IT will transform the companies they govern in that time frame.
• Only 16% report having been a CIO or senior IT executive earlier in their career.

"Significant risks are introduced by the ineffective use of information technology. We estimate that the world's largest 500 companies lose more than $14 billion every year from failed IT projects alone," says Jonathan Cohn, Oliver Wyman Partner and co-author of a report detailing the survey findings, Taming Information Technology Risk: A New Framework for Boards of Directors. "Companies that receive focused board direction on IT-related risk will have a competitive advantage over those that don't," he adds.

"Board members should think about IT risk in the context of a wide range of business concerns, rather than as a monolithic issue," says Mark Robson, Oliver Wyman Partner and report co-author.