Stephen Davis and Jon Lukomnik

A look back at 2015 predictions from CW columnists Stephen Davis and Jon Lukomnik—where they went right and where they veered off track. Also, their predictions for the coming year: among other things, a separation of the board chair and chief executive officer roles; more attention paid to environmental issues in investing; and a surge in economic inequality due to the U.S. general election.

The 2016 proxy season will bring much scrutiny as usual, but two developments in corporate governance—the new COSO framework, and the Audit Quality Indicator project—might help committees manage the workload better. Inside, columnists Stephen Davis and Jon Lukomnik review how compliance officers can use those tools to help audit committees ease their burdens.

The 2015 annual meeting season was a whirlwind, driven by surprise voting outcomes and regulatory flip-flops on proxy access. The coming year could be even tougher, because presidential politics promises to turbocharge the corporate governance debate. This week, columnists Stephen Davis and Jon Lukomnik examine some of the likely issues and how those subjects are likely to make some companies squirm. More inside.

The world’s second-largest economy threw the rest of the world a huge curveball this summer, with crashing stock markets and unpredictable regulatory reactions. Better corporate governance might help, but the truth about China is this: Its institutions are still weak, efforts to improve them difficult. Inside, columnists Stephen Davis and Jon Lukomnik review what has happened in China, and what still needs to happen.

The SEC is working now to draw up new rules for audit committee and executive compensation disclosure. Why? To make corporations more transparent with investors about what they already know. The thing is, Compliance Week columnists Stephen Davis and Jon Lukomnik write, companies can start that better communication themselves. This week they outline several steps corporations and boards can take now to cooperate with investors and prevent governance fights before they start.

One trend to emerge from the 2015 proxy season is a push to bring investor groups and boards of directors into closer contact—perhaps even into direct communication. Yes, columnists Stephen Davis and Jon Lukomnik say, you can make such interactions work, and work effectively. Inside are their thoughts on how investor groups view governance concerns now and how those groups want to bring their concerns to the board.

The political season is ramping up in both the United Kingdom and the United States, which means one thing: lots of talk about the shortcomings of corporate governance, and how to fix it. This week, columnists Stephen Davis and Jon Lukomnik look at what governance reform might transpire after British elections, and how that might be a harbinger for the United States in 2016.

In this proxy season dominated by talk of shareholder proxy access and executives’ accountability, you may not have noticed that socially responsible proposals—particularly around climate change—are achieving one win after another. This week, columnists Stephen Davis and Jon Lukomnik survey the scene of SRI activism and its effect on governance conversations this spring.

A funny thing happened on the way to a 2015 annual meeting season expected to be polarized by the return of shareholder access to the proxy: a possible path to consensus emerged, led by General Electric. This week, columnists Stephen Davis and Jon Lukomnik trace how regulators, activists, and companies reached this state of affairs, and whether proxy season will be a more civilized affair in 2015.