Just as we are observing the power of the Internet in the current presidential primaries, Corporate America is about to experience a wake-up call regarding the same phenomenon. But in the corporate context, the campaigners are largely activist investors who will use the various Internet and social networking tools to win their proxy battles. This […]
Louis M. Thompson
Posted inFrom the Archive
Below the Iceberg of Better Reporting
The Securities and Exchange Commission launched a much-needed initiative last year in creating the Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting. The SEC staff will now review the Committee’s draft decision memo (you can see coverage of the memo in the “Rules and Proposals” section of the magazine this month) and make recommendations to the […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Shareholder e-Forums: Useful Tool or Pitfall?
You probably overlooked this, but the Securities and Exchange Commission is trying something new with its latest amendments to federal proxy rules: encouraging public companies to establish online shareholder forums. The rule amendments were approved on Nov. 28, 2007, but were quickly overshadowed by the Commission’s vote on the same day to let companies block […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Who Speaks for the Silent Investor Majority?
The U.S. investor population is booming: more than 90 million individuals invested directly or indirectly in our securities market, according to most reliable estimates. Yet, as the Securities and Exchange Commission and self-regulatory organizations engage in rule making that affects individual investors, what organization truly represents their interests? Maybe nobody does, at least effectively. The […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
The CD&A: Communicate Beyond Compliance
As calendar-year companies begin preparing their Compensation Discussion & Analysis for their 2008 proxies, they are caught in the middle of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s desire for a “plain English” description of the “how and why” of executive compensation and the SEC staff’s demand for more detailed information. Those two imperatives come from the […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
The CD&A: Communicate Beyond Compliance
As calendar-year companies begin preparing their Compensation Discussion & Analysis for their 2008 proxies, they are caught in the middle of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s desire for a “plain English” description of the “how and why” of executive compensation and the SEC staff’s demand for more detailed information. Those two imperatives come from the […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Cleaning Up Financial Reporting Language
When the Securities and Exchange Commission created its Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting earlier this summer, one of its challenges was for corporations to make information more “investor friendly”—that is, more useful and understandable. But we’ve been here before. In the mid-1990s, the SEC embarked on a “plain English” campaign that resulted in […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Changes in Market Trading, Investor Relations
If your investor relations department continues to practice in a traditional manner—especially in this rapidly changing investment environment—it will become increasingly irrelevant. Companies that recognize the forces of change and respond accordingly will have much greater success achieving strategic governance and shareholder communications goals. Are these the words of an alarmist? Not when one looks […]
Posted inUncategorized
Preparing To Enter The 2008 Perfect Storm
Corporations should heed early warnings that they may encounter a “perfect storm” during the 2008 proxy season. The lead elements in this storm are executive compensation, forthcoming proxy reforms, and the increasing power of shareholder democracy. The ultimate victims could be boards of directors that fail to pay sufficient attention to the potential impact of […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Making The Most Of The IRO And IR Dept.
Given the increasing role of investor relations in bringing important intelligence to the board of directors, dealing with activist mutual and hedge funds that want to engage the board on strategy, and communicating with the investment community at a strategic level, it’s time for many companies to evaluate the best reporting relationship of IR within […]
