Comments on: SEC Wants More Concise Disclosure That is Material http://tcbblogs.org/governance/2009/12/18/sec-wants-more-concise-disclosure-that-is-material/ Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:20:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Climate Change Among Risks Boards Have on Disclosure Radar | Governance Center Blog http://tcbblogs.org/governance/2009/12/18/sec-wants-more-concise-disclosure-that-is-material/#comment-834 Climate Change Among Risks Boards Have on Disclosure Radar | Governance Center Blog Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:46:20 +0000 http://tcbblogs.org/governance/?p=222#comment-834 [...] crisis, the enhanced disclosure rules, which went into effect Feb. 28, [See past blog post, SEC Wants More Concise Disclosure That is Material, Dec. 18] have a heavy emphasis on risk management and oversight. Also, an Oct. 27, SEC Staff Legal [...] [...] crisis, the enhanced disclosure rules, which went into effect Feb. 28, [See past blog post, SEC Wants More Concise Disclosure That is Material, Dec. 18] have a heavy emphasis on risk management and oversight. Also, an Oct. 27, SEC Staff Legal [...]

]]> By: Best to Keep Eyes Peeled on SEC Agenda | Governance Center Blog http://tcbblogs.org/governance/2009/12/18/sec-wants-more-concise-disclosure-that-is-material/#comment-646 Best to Keep Eyes Peeled on SEC Agenda | Governance Center Blog Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:53:11 +0000 http://tcbblogs.org/governance/?p=222#comment-646 [...] SEC Action: Final rule issued on Dec. 16. Description: The proxy disclosure enhancements (Read my post from Dec. 18) would require disclosures in the proxy and financial statements [...] [...] SEC Action: Final rule issued on Dec. 16. Description: The proxy disclosure enhancements (Read my post from Dec. 18) would require disclosures in the proxy and financial statements [...]

]]> By: Deborah S. Bosley, Ph.D. http://tcbblogs.org/governance/2009/12/18/sec-wants-more-concise-disclosure-that-is-material/#comment-615 Deborah S. Bosley, Ph.D. Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:33:35 +0000 http://tcbblogs.org/governance/?p=222#comment-615 Gary, for the past several years, I have helped a number of Fortune 100/500 companies write proxy statements (and in particular CD&As) in plain language. Because your article articulated the SEC's new rules and the importance of transparent disclosures, I thought you might be interested in my contributing to an article about how plain language 1) manages risk, and 2) can be a marketing opportunity. Given the public scrutiny on executive compensation, this year's CD&As may be the most important documents public companies have ever had to write. Many of my clients have seen the value in having plain language experts work with legal, accounting, and, of course, their compensation consultants to produce a proxy statement that meets the new rules and, frankly, exceeds the SEC's expectations for plain language. In addition, I also have been an expert witness in three lawsuits in which the lack of plain language was a claim by the plaintiffs. Two of these suits were against AT&T and Bank of America. In both cases, I was able to help the companies' legal team prove that the documents in question were written in plain language (both the actual product and the process used to produce the documents -- Summary Plan Descriptions) Please let me know if you would like to discuss this further. deborah@theplainlanguagegroup.com Thank you, Deborah Gary, for the past several years, I have helped a number of Fortune 100/500
companies write proxy statements (and in particular CD&As) in plain language.
Because your article articulated the SEC’s new rules and the importance of
transparent disclosures, I thought you might be interested in my contributing to
an article about how plain language 1) manages risk, and 2) can be a marketing
opportunity. Given the public scrutiny on executive compensation, this year’s CD&As
may be the most important documents public companies have ever had to write. Many of
my clients have seen the value in having plain language experts work with legal,
accounting, and, of course, their compensation consultants to produce a proxy
statement that meets the new rules and, frankly, exceeds the SEC’s expectations
for plain language.

In addition, I also have been an expert witness in three lawsuits in which the lack
of plain language was a claim by the plaintiffs. Two of these suits were against AT&T
and Bank of America. In both cases, I was able to help the companies’ legal team
prove that the documents in question were written in plain language (both the actual product
and the process used to produce the documents — Summary Plan Descriptions)

Please let me know if you would like to discuss this further. deborah@theplainlanguagegroup.com
Thank you,

Deborah

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