The Adoption of Formal Policies On Board-Shareholder Engagement

U.S. Newswire › November 02, 2011

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Summary

NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a report released today by The Conference Board, the global business research and membership organization, most U.S. public companies believe that their top executive compensation programs do not pose the risk of a material adverse effect on the business. In addition, the study revealed the emergence of new compensation practices and the adoption by some boards of directors of formal policies on how they should engage with shareholders.

The 2011 U.S. Director Compensation and Board Practices Report is based on a survey of 334 public companies jointly conducted by The Conference Board, NASDAQ OMX, and NYSE Euronext between April and June 2011. The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, Stanford University's Rock Center for Corporate Governance, the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and the Shareholder Forum each endorsed the survey by distributing it to their members and readers. Participants in the survey (corporate secretaries, general counsel, and investor relations officers) were asked to provide information on a wide range of corporate practices, including: board composition and leadership, director election practices, anti-takeover practices, compensation practices, risk oversight practices, CEO succession planning practices, board-shareholder engagement practices, and policies on director performance assessment and retirement. Findings constitute the basis for a benchmarking tool with more than 120 data points searchable by company size (measurable by revenue and asset value) and 20 industrial sectors.

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The Adoption of Formal Policies On Board-Shareholder Engagement

"Since its first release in 1939, this annual study by The Conference Board has become a highly regarded resource on corporate governance practices for regulators, governance experts and academics," said Matteo Tonello, Managing Director of Corporate Leadership at The Conference Board and an author of the report. "This year, we are proud to join forces with NASDAQ OMX and NYSE Euronext in consolidating a source of information that we believe ...

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