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V O L . X X V I I I N O. X M AY 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 32 S M A L L B U S I N E S S F O C U S I t has been 20 years since the Sarbanes- Oxley reform legislation and wide- spread concern over a potential disaster surrounding financial reporting and responsibility. One of the earlier requirements was that a public board of directors have someone with financial and accounting expertise.e light shining on corporate board responsibility was starting to brighten and as a result many useful reforms were made in corporate behavior. Now it appears that the SEC could require public company boards to have corporate expertise in cybersecurity. If anyone has been paying attention to the evolving corporate governance needs of companies' cybersecurity has got to be on top of the list. Private as well as public companies need to pay attention. e stakes are huge. Don't be fooled by the notion that cybersecurity concerns are only for the larger companies — that could be a disastrous mistake. Your company's IT or chief information officer has hope- fully already put in place a disaster recovery plan that anticipates a shut- down of critical systems — including alternative work capacity space and available equipment — due to a cyber attack or other systems disaster such as an out-of-control fire in the com- puter room. Depending on the nature of the attack or disaster it could be a company survival issue. The need for talent In addition to the seismic changes in corporate liability from a wide range of corporate changes in corporate (and resulting board) responsibilities, the need for increased and knowledge- able talent has never been greater. Cybersecurity expertise has become the latest hot topic in many compa- nies as company systems become more complicated and the stakes grow larger. How is your company positioned from a knowledge standpoint? is latest hot topic and increased talent need is only a continuation of the increasing com- plexity of our modern-day companies. Expertise in corporate system security will continue to grow in importance as your company grows. As your organization deals with the present pressures to perform, it is helpful for all companies to maintain a well documented "skills inventory" of your organization's talent base, a clear process to match up this talent with the organizations' needs and a well thought- out human resource development plan designed to groom your current employees for increased responsibilities and success. e goodwill attained by investing in each employees' success can- not be overstated. e gap created by the current personal development plans for each employee — that investment will pay huge dividends and could be very helpful to employee retention. The follow up Follow-up systems are critical — a plan without effective execution is worthless. at skills inventory should include everyone in the company, including all employees, members of manage- ment and the current members of the board. If you haven't performed this task already you are missing a valuable tool that will positively contribute to company success. Once that inventory is completed make sure it is distributed to the appropriate levels of management to maximize its effectiveness. Part of an effective talent develop- ment program involves not letting talk substitute for action. It takes real com- mitment to spend the time with each employee to put together and monitor an effective personal development plan. Part of the action needed is to review their personal development progress along with their job performance on a periodic basis — say, every six months. From an employee development and "caring" standpoint, very few actions send a more clear signal to employees that you care about them. Perceived lack of caring is a major reason for employee turnover. Ward Graffam was the founding chairman of the Maine International Trade Center, and served as chairman and CEO of UNUM UK and chairman of FINEOS in Dublin. He can be reached at wgraffam @ aol.com Find out more about how your small business might save at efficiencymaine.com/small-business-energy-loans Attention Small Business Owners: Small Business Energy Loans Financing is available for eligible small business owners upgrading to high-performance heat pumps and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems. H OW TO Develop a skills inventory and talent development plan B Y W A R D G R A F F A M B Y W A R D G R A F F A M The SEC could require public company boards to have corporate expertise in cybersecurity

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