The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘Accountability’

A Growing Consensus on What to Do About Citizens United

While the Supreme Court in Citizens United envisioned a world where shareholders could hold managers accountable for political spending, corporations have clever legal ways to hide their role in politics from the public. Over the past few weeks, a growing consensus among shareholders, corporate leaders and corporate law experts has emerged. All are urging increased transparency for corporate money in politics.

Ethics of Being Wrong: Ghosn, Greenspan, and Dodger Owners

Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn recently accused three of the company’s senior executives of selling corporate secrets to the Chinese. But he was wrong – they hadn’t done it. Columnist Gael O’Brien says being wrong is part of being human, and leaders should be especially mindful of that . “The more we stay open to the possibility we could be wrong,” she says, “the more likely we are to get beyond our own ‘rightness’ and experience a larger reality.”

Companies Pressed on Policies to Clawback Executive Pay

When financial results aren’t what they seemed to be – and a company is forced to issue material financial restatements – how does it recoup the incentive pay and bonuses that were awarded to senior managers on the basis of rosier outcomes? It’s not a simple process, as evidenced by reactions to a provision in the newly-enacted Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation.

Businesses Link Sustainability Objectives to Executive Pay

A small but growing group of pioneering companies are increasingly aware of the power that policies on executive pay can exert on sustainability behavior. One challenge: linking today’s compensation package to policies and practices whose impact may not be felt for many years to come.

Toyota Recall: Five Critical Lessons

Fixing the problem and ensuring that something like it doesn’t happen again will require an all-out effort by Toyota, from assembly line to the boardroom. Even then, there are no guarantees. Maintaining a good corporate reputation in the 21st century is tricky business indeed.

Financial Crisis Commission: Watch Out for Phil Angelides

There will no doubt be a fair amount of theater this week as the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission holds its first public hearings exploring the causes of the 2008 financial crisis that nearly catapulted the U.S. and world economies into a 21st century Great Depression. While many will focus attention on the star bankers testifying, there’s another potential star in this drama that you might want to keep on eye on: the commission’s chairman, Phil Angelides.