SEC Conducts Roundtable on Executive Compensation Disclosure Practices
As previewed in our previous blog post , the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hosted a roundtable on executive compensation disclosure on June 26, with panelists considering whether and to what extent the current executive compensation disclosure requirements for public companies should be reformed. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins opened the roundtable by describing the current disclosure regime as a “Frankenstein patchwork of rules.” He set the stage for the roundtable as a first step in assessing whether the current rules achieve the SEC’s three-part mission of: (1) investor protection, (2) fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and (3) capital formation. Next, Commissioner Hester M. Peirce observed that the current rules have created a disclosure regime focused on complex details (the trees), detracting from the broader picture (the forest); Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda questioned whether certain SEC disclosure rules were implemented to “name and shame” executives in order to curb...