Board Governance: Ethical Considerations and Best Practices

Please join us at Red & Blue Arkansas Events Venue on August 20 for

Board Governance: Ethical Considerations and Best Practices

8:30am: Check-in & Networking

9:00am-10:15am: Education Session

FREE for AFP Members

$75 for Non-AFP Members

Location: Red & Blue Events Venue at 1415 W. 7th Street in Little Rock at the corner of 7th and Woodlane.

In this session we will cover the ethical considerations and best practices for not-for-profit boards, management, and fundraisers. We will talk about the fiduciary duties of board members, considerations for board structure and things to consider when selecting board members and the duties of the board versus management.

What are the parking options?

Parking spots are located facing the Red & Blue Events Venue, and additional parking is available in the Victory Building Parking Deck, which is located diagonally across from Red & Blue.Enter the deck from 6th Street and park in Visitor parking on the ground level.

Cost: $1/hour or $5/day

There are also some spots available on nearby streets.

More about our speaker:
Cindy Hovis Boyle

Boyle Consulting, LLC

Cindy is a board director, governance advisor, board educator, and executive coach with extensive experience helping boards and executive leadership teams strengthen governance, enhance oversight effectiveness, and navigate complex business, risk, and technology challenges. As the founder of Boyle Consulting, LLC, she provides board training, governance consulting, and executive advisory services focused on helping boards fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities and create long-term organizational value.

Drawing on decades of experience as both a board member and executive advisor, Cindy works with directors and senior leaders to improve board effectiveness, governance practices, committee performance, enterprise risk oversight, cybersecurity governance, and strategic decision-making. She is recognized for her ability to translate complex financial, technology, regulatory, and risk-related issues into practical guidance that enables boards to provide effective oversight and leadership.

Cindy currently serves as Vice Chair of Delta Dental of Arkansas Board of Directors and is a member of its Executive, Governance, Finance/Investment Committees. She currently chairs the Audit and Risk Committee. She also serves on the boards of Renaissance Health Service Corporation and Omega Administrators, Inc. Through these roles, she has contributed to governance excellence, strategic planning, executive succession, enterprise risk management, and organizational performance.

In addition to her governance work, Cindy serves as a Vistage Chair, facilitating peer advisory groups for chief executive officers and key executives and providing individualized coaching to C-suite leaders. This work enables her to bring firsthand insight into the leadership challenges executives face and the board-management dynamics that contribute to effective organizational governance.

Prior to founding Boyle Consulting, Cindy retired in 2025 as the National Practice Leader of the Forvis Mazars IT Risk and Compliance Practice. She advised boards, audit committees, and executive teams across multiple industries on governance, enterprise risk management, cybersecurity oversight, regulatory compliance, and internal controls. Her professional experience provides a unique perspective on the evolving responsibilities of directors and the governance practices that support organizational resilience and success.

Cindy is also committed to advancing leadership opportunities for women. She serves as Vice Chair of the Arkansas State University Center for Leadership Excellence and a member of the Founder’s Circle, which supports scholarships and mentoring for college women. She is a founding board member of the Leadership Foundation for Women, which promotes professional growth, leadership development, and networking opportunities for professional women.

A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Cindy also holds a CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight from Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Arkansas State University and is an active member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and the International Women’s Forum.

Cindy and her husband, T.J. Boyle, were named Outstanding Philanthropist in 2021 by the Arkansas Chapter of the Association of Professional Fundraisers. They live in Little Rock and in addition to volunteering and supporting their favorite organizations, including Our House and Arkansas Foodbank, they love to travel and play golf together.