Sean Di Somma, who has been commenting on my critiques of the fake, industry-funded front group Main Street Investor Coalition (hint: they are not from Main Street and they don’t have any investors representatives on their board), now is endorsing their agenda by complaining about ESG regulation and proxy advisors. So-called “environmental, social, and governance”…
Oil Company CEO Fails to Disclose “Loans” (Actually Bribes)
Oil company CEO John D. Schiller Jr. failed to disclose more than $10 million in personal loans he received while serving as chief executive officer of now-defunct Energy XXI. He sought the money in exchange for business contracts in 2014, when he was facing margin calls on a highly leveraged account secured by his company…
Business world reacts to new Corporate Governance Code | ICAEW Economia
More on the new UK governance code: While the majority of business groups, accountancy firms and think tanks welcomed the reforms, some said they were not the “shake-up of corporate Britain” the government has previously promised.Roger Barker, head of corporate governance at the Institute of Directors, welcomed the Code, particularly its “engagement with a wider…
Integrating a CR Report to Your Company’s Overall Strategy? Start, Don’t End, with the Board
[I]nstead of signing off on sustainability reports, board of directors should sign on and be proactive when it comes to the process. This is especially important at a time when more corporate governance experts are calling for improved communication between investors, the C-suite and boards.“The board needs an understanding of the goals of sustainability reporting,”…
Corporate auditing is broken. Here’s how to fix it – CapX
Can any auditor be truly independent if it is selected by the management it is supposed to review without conflicts? The corporation’s shareholders – key users of the audit report – nominally have the authority to choose auditors. But this authority is usually exercised upon the recommendation of the corporation’s board of directors, which customarily…
‘Chairman’ retired from UK boardroom code – Financial News
The term ‘chairman’ has been dropped from the UK Corporate Governance Code for the first time in 26 years and replaced with ‘chair’ in a landmark move for equality in the workplace.The watershed change appears in the 2018 edition of the influential guidelines, published today, and is part of a conscious decision to retire the…
Exxon Mobil joins exodus of firms from lobbying group ALEC | Reuters
This is a very important step forward, and we are most grateful to Walden Asset Management and the other investors who worked with great patience and integrity to communicate with ExxonMobil about these issues. Exxon Mobil said on Thursday it ended its association with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative political group that several…
Mutual Fund Transparency and Corporate Myopia
We often hear that corporate executives believe the pressure to issue quarterly figures and guidance leads to over-emphasis on short-term returns. A new paper by Vikas Agarwal (Georgia State University), Rahul Vashishtha (Duke University), and Mohan Venkatachalam (Duke University) provides some welcome focus on another source of short-term pressure, the reporting requirements imposed on mutual…
ISS Testimony at Proxy Advisors Hearing
Excerpts from the statement by ISS CEO Gary Retelny to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, July 6, 2018: FACT: ISS is a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) and is subject to strict SEC oversightContrary to the suggestions oft made in the hearing, ISS is a Registered Investment Adviser (“RIA”) and is therefore…
How Many Workers Must Live In Poverty For McDonald’s CEO To Make $21.8 Million?
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow is quoted in Forbes on the pay ratio: Corporations and their proxies so far haven’t embraced the mandatory pay ratio disclosures. Instead, they’ve attacked the measure and tried to undercut what insight the information can provide. Nell Minow, an old colleague of mine, expert in corporate governance, and vice chair…
