The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘Transparency’

Boards Respond to Stakeholder Concerns

The economic crisis, increased rules and regulations, and heightened scrutiny of boards’ roles have “corporate directors feeling pressure to be more effective in the boardroom,” according to an annual survey of directors of large companies by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Key concerns include executive compensation, risk management, strategy, succession planning, information technology security and fraud.

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.

Goldman’s Self-Help: Eat, Pay, Trade

Reporter Jesse Eisinger suggests that Goldman Sachs’ announcement last week of a plan to increase transparency and disclosure does not resolve some big questions about the investment banks’ role in financial markets. “Could there be an argument that Goldman should break up into three smaller, more focused companies?” he asks. “It would be better for the financial system, and just might lead to the self-improvement that Goldman is searching for.”

Goldman Sachs Unveils Plan to Increase Disclosure

The investment banking giant, seeking to repair damage to its reputation suffered in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, said its management and board had adopted and begun implementing 39 new policies and practices that represent a “fundamental re-commitment” by the firm to “reputational excellence” and increased transparency and disclosure.

The Making of a Modern CEO: The New Normal

Ann Charles thinks the next generation of business leaders will require new talents and a different set of skills to successfully grow business over the next decade. A modern CEO, she writes, will focus on creating a business culture that’s expansive, mapping a social purpose to the creation of goods and services.

Leadership: Vigilantism 2.0

The worldwide Web is a great repository for track records, and has a long memory. That’s why social activists are increasingly using it to punish companies that have attracted their wrath. In this brave new world, Ann Charles writes, CEOs need to prepare for the era of total transparency.

Johnson & Johnson, Under Investigation, Tops CSR Index

Johnson & Johnson topped a list of companies perceived by American consumers as having the best reputations for corporate social responsibility practices. Months after research for the Index was conducted, the company admitted that it misled regulators and consumers by using contractors to buy defective Motrin painkiller products from store shelves rather than announce a recall.

Verbatim: How Businesses View Sustainability & CSR Reporting

Investment firm Walden Asset Management recently researched and compiled quotes from sustainability and corporate responsibility reports by several dozen companies in a wide range of industries. The exercise showed, says a Walden executive, that attention to such issues has become vitally important for a company’s business, and that transparent reporting is, as one CEO said, one of “the prices of doing business today.”

SEC Explores Changes to U.S. Shareholder Proxy System

The commission outlined a concept release seeking public comment on proposals to “promote greater efficiency and transparency in the U.S. proxy system and enhance the accuracy and integrity of the shareholder vote.” And SEC Commissioners, with no debate, unanimously approved issuing the concept release for a 90-day public comment period.

Are Federal Agencies Open? Audit Gives Mixed Grades

An audit of agency open government plans released by a consortium of transparency groups found that while some agencies outlined concrete steps for improvement, others lack specifics about how or when the agency will be more open.