“There is only one god, and His name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: ‘not today’.” If only it were that easy for reporting companies to reply to the SEC on regulations. Imagine Bezos to Clayton: “Not today.” Because company leaders don’t have the Game of Thrones option, the best option out there is to watch out, read up, and prepare for the biggest regulatory issues and how they might impact your organization.

Al Dominick, CEO of DirectorCorps, shares the concept behind the Looking Ahead board leadership series that explores emerging ideas and opportunities with today’s key executives and directors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee voted to ask the SEC to investigate whether public companies should be required to disclose information around the idea of human capital management. Analysis is underway. While it won’t impact you this proxy season, here’s what you need to know.

The current state of M&A activity contradicts predictions made in 2018. Back in December, countless articles predicted a slowing economy would lead to a slow down in M&A but as recession fears have receded, M&A has continued its hot streak.

2019 could be the year of the human, at least where shareholder proposals are concerned. Proposals this year run the gamut, from talent and diversity, to battling plastics and opioids. A snapshot of four human issues making the rounds at annual meetings.

One piece of legislation from the Dodd-Frank Act that concerned executives required companies to disclose the ratio of CEO pay to the median employee. Last year was the first year for companies to report this metric. An analysis on the first year of pay ratio disclosures looks at the fallout from last year, implications of the rule, how most companies measured median pay, and what companies should do to prepare to keep the spotlight away in 2019.

Another proxy season is underway—leaders beware. Although the usual concerns of corporate governance, executive compensation and regulatory disclosures abound, new, specific worries sit under each of those umbrellas. Under compensation, one proxy advisory firm has a new way to evaluate compensation metrics. Within the disclosure realm, the optics of pay ratio disclosure will continue to create flashy headlines in 2019. Approach with caution.

While bank fundamentals remain strong, current valuations are the lowest since 2004, well before the financial crisis. That could spell bad news across industries, because the health of the financial services sector remains a harbinger of the overall health of global markets. Although there are a few reasons to feel cautiously optimistic about the economy, recession triggers abound.