Coca-Cola chairman James Quincey recently slammed the state of Georgia for its new election law. “We all have a duty to protect everyone’s right to vote, and we will continue to stand up for what is right in Georgia and across the U.S.,” he said. Across the U.S. — and no further? As Western businesses…
Let Them Eat Tacos: Chipotle Board Wildly Overpays the CEO Because Pandemic
Chipotle’s board has decided that their CEO deserves extra pay due to the pressures of the pandemic. So, “we made “COVID-related modifications” to CEO’s performance shares that increase the total level of his reported compensation from $14.8 M to $38 M.” Compensation Committee: Chairman: Neil W. Flanraich Patricia Fili-Krushel Greg Engles Mauricio Guttierez The board…
An Accidental Disclosure Exposes a $1 Billion Tax Fight With Bristol Myers – The New York Times
Almost nine years ago, Bristol Myers Squibb filed paperwork in Ireland to create a new offshore subsidiary. By moving Bristol Myers’s profits through the subsidiary, the American drugmaker could substantially reduce its U.S. tax bill. Years later, the Internal Revenue Service got wind of the arrangement, which it condemned as an “abusive” tax shelter. The…
EY: Top Priorities for Investors in 2021 Proxy Season
EY advises its clients that the top priorities for engagement by investors this proxy season are: Investors want to know how companies are strategizing for a low-carbon future. Getting diversity disclosures that include the workforce and the board is an investor priority. Investors want to understand how pay decisions are being made in the context…
UK To Overhaul Audit, Address “Real Life Consequences” Of Failures In Audit And Corporate Governance — Dina Medland
The U.K. government is joining up the dots on the need for trust to build a strong commercial ecosystem for business. It intends to broaden the remit of audit, introduce new reporting obligations on businesses, and break the dominance of the Big Four accounting firms by requiring the use of smaller “challenger” firms by large…
Corporate Political Spending Under the Spotlight Again: Georgia Voter Suppression
Corporations are still struggling with pressure on political contributions to elected officials connected to the January 6 insurrection in the Capitol Building, and now they are also under the microscope for connections to Georgia and other states enacting restrictive and racist new laws suppressing the votes of BIPOC and poor people. Connections to January 6…
Executive Compensation and Climate Targets
As environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues increasingly take center-stage, there is more interest from investors and boards in putting climate targets in their compensation policies. “Willis Towers Watson is partnering with Climate Governance initiative in collaboration with the World Economic Forum to survey and interview board directors and Remuneration Committee members to understand how…
Adam Bryant on The CEO Test
Adam Bryant’s Corner Office interviews with CEOs included some of the most innovative, practical, and often surprising insights into the challenges and strategies of leaders I have ever read. So it is not surprising that his latest book, The CEO Test: Master the Challenges That Make or Break All Leaders, co-written with former Amgen CEO…
Sen. Sherrod Brown wants to use ‘Congressional Review Act’ to overturn Trump-era financial rules – cleveland.com
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is using his chairmanship of the U.S. Senate committee that oversees the banking system to overturn regulations the Trump administration passed in its waning days that he views as anti-consumer…. Brown also introduced a resolution to overturn procedures the Securities and Exchange Commission finalized late last year that affect how shareholders…
Agenda – Emerging Culture Woes Point to ‘Critical’ Board Oversight
With all of the adjustments companies and their workforces have had to make during the pandemic, more employees feel pressured to cut corners and bend the rules. That’s according to the 2021 Global Business Ethics Survey Report from the Ethics & Compliance Initiative, which found that employee pressure to compromise ethical standards has reached the…
