Tag Archives: SEC

Who’s Friending Whom?

The TakeAway: News of Goldman Sachs’ $50 billion valuation and private offering of Facebook underscores the need to rally social media to promote corporate sustainability and accountability. The biggest business story of the New Year broke in the wee hours of … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Reporting, Media & Entertainment, Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Three I’s of Sustainability Reporting’s Future

The TakeAway: The Global Reporting Initiative leads sustainability disclosure into a new era through Integration, Implementation, and Integrity. Around the world, thousands of organizations rely on the GRI Reporting Framework and its multi-stakeholder approach to sustainability reporting covering the range of … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Reporting, Corporate Sustainability, Human Rights, Interactive Technology, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainability Ratings, Sustainable Investing, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

People Power

The TakeAway: The outcome of Tuesday’s elections will influence public policy on sustainability and financial reform, but individuals can still make a difference. Tomorrow’s elections are expected to yield gains for the Republicans in Congress, which could affect not only … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Corporate Governance, Corporate Political Activity, Corporate Sustainability, Proxy Voting, Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sustainability News Roundup

The TakeAway: BP’s transparency, the power of proxy advisory firms, and uncontrolled campaign spending BP disaster: truth or “integrated spin”?  | Today’s New York Times and Wall Street Journal report that Halliburton knowingly supplied “unstable” cement to BP to seal … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Political Activity, Corporate Reporting, Corporate Sustainability, Investor Governance, Proxy Voting, Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Say-on-Pay: A Bird’s Eye View

The TakeAway: New SEC rules on executive compensation advisory votes take steps toward broader board-shareholder engagement. On Monday afternoon, the SEC proposed rules for Say-on-Pay (shareholder advisory votes on executive compensation) and golden parachutes (big payouts to executives dismissed after … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

NOTABLE PEOPLE: Bob Monks and the Battle to Change Corporate America

The TakeAway: Bob Monks believes new corporate governance reforms fall short, but digital tools can help advance accountability goals. Robert A.G. Monks has a long history of pioneering work on corporate accountability.  From his tenure as first Department of Labor … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Sustainability, Interactive Technology, Investor Governance, Notable People, Proxy Voting, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainable Investing, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Proxy Access & Shareholder Citizenship: The Quest for Inclusion

The TakeAway: New SEC rule allows shareholders to nominate board candidates, a major victory for corporate democracy. Yesterday was historic: the SEC granted shareholders the power to nominate candidates for board director elections.  The 3-2 vote along party lines ended … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Proxy Voting, Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Fiduciary Failure: Closing the ESG Disclosure Gap

The TakeAway: Flex your muscles, report tells investors, to get better environmental, social, and governance reporting (and practice) from companies. What’s the secret to good corporate governance?  Good investor governance.  That’s why we were delighted by a recent report from … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Reporting, Investor Governance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Apple Opens the Way to X-Filing

The TakeAway: New iPhone XBRL application opens new windows into financial reporting; next up: sustainability reporting. Apple’s iTunes Store has joined the digital revolution in financial reporting.  Yesterday, it rolled out a new offering – it wasn’t a song, movie, … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Reporting, Interactive Technology, Public Policy, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Board Diversity, Elitism, and Performance: What Works Best?

Part Two of Two Parts The TakeAway: Can Diverse Boards Avoid Pitfalls of Directors Spread Too Thin, And Enhance Performance? Yesterday we described the Mad Men effect on corporate boards sorely lacking gender diversity.  Today, we continue our discussion, placing … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

SEC Rulemaking: Transparency Is Not Enough

Part Two of Two Parts The TakeAway: Dodd-Frank Provision Reduces SEC Accountability, While Digital Tools Can Transform Transparency into Action Yesterday, as we were writing optimistically about the new SEC transparency and outreach initiatives, a showdown was brewing. The issue: … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We the People, or Corporate Lobbyists: Whose Interests Will the SEC Serve?

Part One of Two Parts The TakeAway: SEC Opens  Door Further to Public Engagement as Ex-Regulator Lobbyists Rush In Two developments late yesterday demonstrate the high stakes involved when it comes to money and power, and vividly illustrate the imbalance … Continue reading

Posted in Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sustainability: When Will the Exception Become the Rule?

Commentary by Bob Massie The TakeAway: Silo Thinking by Corporations, Activists, Investors, and Others Slows Progress of Sustainability Those who have been working to advance the concept and practice of sustainability in the United States over the last decade can … Continue reading

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Rules of the Road: Fixing Corporate Governance, and What It Means To You

The past half-year or so has seen a host of corporate governance reforms in the US, which dramatically change the context of corporate power and accountability.  In December 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) set the ball rolling by … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Reporting, Proxy Voting, Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Good Governance: A Perfect Storm

Part Three of Three Parts President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act into law yesterday, capping an extraordinary period of financial and governance reform, stimulated by the collapse of Lehman Brothers 22 months ago.  You could call it “the end of … Continue reading

Posted in Proxy Voting, Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Environmental & Social Policy Resolutions Receive Record Levels of Support

Part Two of Three Parts For more than forty years, shareholder activists and large investors have expressed their concerns to corporate boards through the proxy resolution process.  For them, this past season was the best ever. Proxy resolutions are proposed … Continue reading

Posted in Proxy Voting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Voting Matters: Record-Breaking Proxy Season

Part One of Three Parts It’s been a banner year for U.S. capital market reform:  on Wednesday President Obama is expected to sign the Dodd-Frank Act, while the SEC is receiving comments on its Concept Release for improving the process … Continue reading

Posted in Proxy Voting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sustainability Disclosure and Sector Sensibility

Now that the experimental cap seems to be holding on BP’s blown-out well in the Gulf, it’s time to step back and take a wider view of the company and the industry it occupies.  While we need to keep the focus … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Reporting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Tackling “Corporate-Carditis”: SEC Proposes Quadruple Bypass Surgery on Proxy System

Part Two of a Two-Part Post Yesterday, in a rare expression of unanimity, the five SEC Commissioners all voted to approve a Concept Release that proposes sweeping revisions of the US proxy voting system.  This is akin to quadruple bypass … Continue reading

Posted in Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

We’ve Only Just Begun: Why Today’s SEC Open Meeting Matters

Part One of a Two-Part Post This morning, the SEC held an open meeting to issue what’s called a “concept release”, the Commission’s mechanism for considering rule revisions by floating a first draft of policy open to public comment for … Continue reading

Posted in Stakeholder Engagement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Why Dodd-Frank Is Important–For Everyone

This week, Congress returned from  its holiday  break to confront a deep irony:  while millions are desperate for work, the place that brought down our economy is now on a roll.  On the first count, roughly 2.1 million US workers … Continue reading

Posted in Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Free and Fair Elections?

Corporate governance in the United States operates much like the old days of corrupt municipalities: James Michael Curley’s Boston, Richard J. Daley’s Chicago, or George Washington Plunkitt of New York City’s Tammany Hall.  Patronage and abuse of power rule the … Continue reading

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The Murninghan Post Launches!

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Murninghan Post, which we’re creating as a gathering place for information, ideas, deliberation, and strategic action on matters pertaining to the reform of our corporate structures and capital markets. The aim is bold … Continue reading

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