Category: Corporate Governance

Notwithstanding concerns of Investor Advocate, SEC approves NYSE proposal to exempt certain related-party transactions from shareholder approval requirements

by Cydney Posner As you may recall, in April of this year, the NYSE filed with the SEC a proposed rule change that would exempt from the NYSE’s shareholder approval requirements early stage companies that seek to issue, subject to audit committee approval, shares, for cash, to officers, directors or substantial […]

Bipartisan Senate bill introduced to require public companies to increase transparency regarding board oversight of cybersecurity risks

by Cydney Posner Senators Jack Reed and Susan Collins have introduced the bipartisan Cybersecurity Disclosure Act of 2015, a bill to promote transparency in the oversight of cybersecurity risks at publicly traded companies.  According to the press release, the bill is designed to ensure that public companies “provide a basic […]

Prohibition on political spending disclosure requirement survives in omnibus spending bill, WSJ reports

by Cydney Posner The WSJ  is reporting that the provision prohibiting the SEC from adopting requirements for political spending disclosure has survived as part of the omnibus spending bill (12/15 text ).  (See this PubCo post.)   Not that the SEC was addressing the issue anyway.  More specifically, Section 707 of the bill […]

Politico reports: prohibition on corporate political spending disclosure a sticking point in omnibus spending bill negotiations

by Cydney Posner According to Politico (subscription required), a “provision to prohibit the SEC from requiring companies to disclose their political campaign contributions is one of the last sticking points in the omnibus spending package, two sources said.”  One of bill’s negotiators said there were a few sticking points remaining, one […]

Another study shows increase in enhanced disclosures regarding the audit committee

by Cydney Posner The Center for Audit Quality and Audit Analytics have jointly released their second-year analysis, Audit Committee Transparency Barometer.  The analysis, which studied proxy statements of companies in the S&P Composite 1500, showed “double-digit growth in the percentage of S&P 500 companies disclosing information in several key areas […]

Paper debunks seven board myths

by Cydney Posner In “Seven Myths of Boards of Directors,” two academics from Stanford Business School set about debunking some of the most common and persistent expectations regard best practices in board structure, composition and procedure.  The authors contend that these seven myths “are not substantiated by empirical evidence.” 

When it comes to corporate social responsibility, do daughters make a difference?

by Cydney Posner I love the introduction to this article from The Washington Post: “Business school professors have a knack for finding some pretty bizarre links between the personal lives of CEOs and the professional results at the companies they run. Those who golf more than 22 times a year are linked with lower corporate […]

Corp Fin issues new SLB providing guidance on Rule 14a-8 exclusions for “conflicting proposals” and “ordinary business”

by Cydney Posner Corp Fin today posted Staff Legal Bulletin 14H providing guidance on two key issues regarding shareholder proposals under Rule 14a-8: the scope and application of Rule 14a-8(i)(9) (the exclusion for conflicting proposals); and the scope and application of Rule 14a-8(i)(7) (the exclusion for ordinary business) in light of Trinity […]

AS 18 creates a new buzz about related-party transactions for the audit of 2015

by Cydney Posner As discussed in this PubCo post, last year the PCAOB adopted Auditing Standard No. 18, Related Parties, addressing related-party transactions, significant unusual transactions and transactions with executive officers. (See the standard , related fact sheet and SEC release.) These types of transactions are considered to pose an increased risk of […]