TheCorporateCounsel.net

July 20, 2011

Dave & Marty on Analyst Relations, SEC Comment Trends and Vacation

In this podcast, Dave Lynn and Marty Dunn engage in a lively discussion of the latest developments in securities laws, corporate governance, and pop culture. Topics include:

– Dealing with securities analysts
– The latest SEC trends in SEC comments on Exchange Act filings
– Favorite beach activities

The GAO’s Report on the SEC’s Revolving Door

Last week, the GAO issued this report about the SEC’s revolving door entitled “Existing Post-Employment Controls Could Be Further Strengthened.” This report was mandated by Congress in Section 968 of Dodd-Frank. As I’ve blogged recently, revolving doors at federal agencies have been in the news, particularly since it’s a pet peeve of Senator Grassley.

A couple of interesting facts from the report: 2127 staffers left the SEC between 2006-2010 – and there are 3729 staffers right now – so that’s a startling percentage of departures (but maybe that is normal for most organizations – I have no idea since it’s not my area of expertise). Of the 2127 departing staffers though, only 37% were attorneys or accountants (or other types of examiners); the rest were non-examination employees (egs. IT personnel, secretaries) – that was surprising to me too because I assumed most of the turnover was due to staffers leaving for more lucrative jobs in law and accounting firms. During this period, the average tenure of a staffer before departure increased to 13.5 from 8.3 years, mainly due to the recession.

Executive Compensation Disclosure During the ’11 Proxy Season: A Large Step Forward

On CompensationStandards.com, we have posted the Summer 2011 issue of our Compensation Standards newsletter that contains practical guidance (and numerous specific examples) in the aftermath of a hectic proxy season. The Summer issue covers:

– The Evolving Role of the Executive Summary
– Coordinating the Executive Summary and the Say-on-Pay Supporting Statement
– The Newest Disclosure Tool – The Proxy Statement Summary
– The Second Round of Compensation-Related Risk Disclosure
– A Preview of the Coming Consultant Disclosure
– What to Expect in 2012

Act Now: This issue is available to all those with a CompensationStandards.com membership – which is “half-price for the rest of the year” with this no-risk trial. Members should print it out now so they can read Mark Borges’ guidance today…

– Broc Romanek