Investors seek less noise in disclosures, says NACD

Publisher: Compliance Week
Author: Tammy Whitehouse

As regulators debate the issue of disclosure overload, major investors say they aren’t looking for less information, but perhaps less redundancy or less complexity.

“Investors pretty much said to a person they’re not turning down disclosure,” says Kenneth Daly, president and CEO of the National Association of Corporate Directors, which recently convened an investor summit to hear from major investor groups. “At the same time, they made it abundantly clear, there are lots and lots of technicalities described in the disclosures,” especially with respect to complex disclosures in consolidated financial statements. “Many believe it to be excessive,” he says. The NACD summarized investor viewpoints in a report titled, “Critical Issues for Board Focus in 2014.” Main points of the report include: increased engagement with directors around the year and getting a better sense of the rationale behind a company’s governance and strategy. For full access to the article, please click here.

The NACD report is aligned with the SEC© and FASB’s review of disclosure requirements in order to streamline the compliance and reporting process. What are your thoughts on the industry’s attempt to streamline the disclosure process? Give us your feedback below.