As part of a series of posts over the next two months, I will focus on the five main corporate governance and executive compensation sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This installment focuses on shareholder proxy access.
Probably one of the most controversial of the measures included in the Dodd-Frank Act, [...]

The enhanced disclosures in the 2010 proxy statements of some of the largest U.S. companies, including some financial institutions, reflect the beginning of a new tighter corporate governance regulatory regime that will only grow as the Dodd-Frank Act is enacted.
That is one of the observations made in a four-part series of Director Notes that are [...]

The initial reaction to the SEC’s proxy access rule vote yesterday wasn’t very surprising: C-level executives and directors hate it, shareholder groups love it and corporate governance organizations believe it is ushering in a new era of shareholder board dialogue.
What is a bit eye-opening from some of the comments is the dichotomy between shareholders, the [...]

It may not be hailed as a shareholder Bill of Rights, but today’s 3-2 SEC vote on shareholder proxy access is the first significant part of the Dodd-Frank Act to be put into place long before the 2011 proxy season. (The rule changes take effect 60 days after they are posted in the Federal Register.)
The [...]

As promised, the SEC hasn’t wasted any time with the financial regulatory reform rulemaking process as it tackles derivatives – a big factor in the 2008-2009 financial crisis. It’s probably no surprise that the first concept release and first roundtable focus on the regulation and clearing of mixed swaps.
Less than one month after President Barack [...]

If you were on vacation late last month, you may have missed one of the biggest corporate governance news stories of the summer, if not the year. No, it had nothing to do with financial regulatory reform, the BP mess or another fraud unearthed by the SEC. It was the announcement of a merger between [...]

For all you corporate secretaries, general counsel, directors, compensation committee chairs and anyone else involved in corporate governance, your chance to chime in on the anticipated new financial reform regulations is now. As in before the proposed rules or concept releases are even released to the public.
Following up on her commitment to get as much [...]

The fiscal year 2011 corporate governance conference season kicks off this October with our annual meeting in New York City and continues with Roundtable Forums and Crash Courses in several cities. Meanwhile, we will make an appearance at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) National Audit Committee Forum next week in Washington, D.C.
The [...]

By now, you’ve probably been deluged with alerts, client memos, invitations to webinars and live conferences in the past week all centered on the recently enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
If you are a director, C-level executive, corporate secretary or anyone for that matter involved in the corporate governance area, you are [...]

Now that Congress has passed the financial regulatory reform bill with the Senate’s 60-39 vote on Thursday  [See July 15 Reuters article here.], the hard work begins not only for regulators but for public companies who will try to make sense of it all.
Many boards and senior management will be looking to their counsel and [...]