9 Ways to Improve Your D&O Questionnaire Process

According to a 2019 study written up by QDiligence, the average length of a D&O questionnaire is 40 pages, comprising eight sections and 65 questions. That’s an imposing document for an insider with little time on their hands to receive!

This is not a fun task for insiders. As the corporate secretary, you’ll rarely get questions from directors & officers about it – which reflects that it’s not the highlight of their day. Yet, it’s important that they take it seriously. So you have to be sympathetic, be patient – but diligent & firm so that you get all the information you need.

Here are the 9 aspects of the D&O questionnaire process for which in-house lawyers must use their judgment:

• Figuring out your lead time
• Setting the tone
• Structuring the questionnaire
• Framing the question properly
• Pre-populating answers
• Relying on director assistants
• Analyzing answers
• Prodding non-responsive insiders
• Using answers for other purposes

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