Hot trends include cybersecurity rules,
shareholder engagement, and sustainability efforts
CHICAGO, Sept. 10,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- DFIN, a leading risk and
compliance company, today released its annual Guide to Effective
Proxies. The 12th edition of the comprehensive and widely used
guide aims to help companies transform their proxy statements into
more effective communications tools for modern-day investors while
complying with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
regulations.
This year's guide features proxy statements from DFIN clients
who have raised the bar with their disclosures, in the process
creating heightened investor expectations across industries. The
guide offers insights and best practices for companies aiming to
highlight board diversity, new cybersecurity disclosures, ESG
initiatives, and more.
To demonstrate how to navigate and utilize the guide, DFIN will
host a webcast on September 25, 2024,
at 12:00 p.m. ET. Register for the
webcast here.
"DFIN continues to innovate the annual proxy statement, helping
over one-third of all U.S. companies produce informative and
eye-catching disclosures that appeal to a wide range of discerning
stakeholders," said Craig Clay,
President of Global Capital Markets at DFIN. "Our annual guide is
the ultimate resource for companies looking to showcase their
business through proxy statements, and we are proud of our clients
who consistently set the standard as examples of excellence."
Notable disclosure trends highlighted in the guide
include:
- Board Diversity: Companies are humanizing boards by
using expertly designed charts, graphs, and photographs to
highlight board diversity metrics and accompany relevant facts
delivered in traditional narrative.
- Cybersecurity Rules: Companies are disclosing material
cybersecurity incidents and the processes used to manage
cybersecurity risks and disclosing company leadership's role in
assessing and managing those risks.
- Shareholder Engagement: Companies are creating proxies
with stylish designs highlighting governance wins and performance
charts showcasing shareholder engagement throughout the year.
- Sustainability Efforts (ESG): Companies are increasingly
transparent about their impact on the environment, sharing new ways
to present related risks and opportunities, transition plans and
commitments, metrics, and targets.
- Universal Proxy Rule: Companies are reimagining director
bios to highlight each individual director's unique contributions
to the board.
"DFIN reviewed over 1,000 client proxies when creating this
year's guide and compiled best-in-class, practical examples
intended to help companies comply with new and forthcoming
regulations and impress increasingly demanding investors," said
Ron Schneider, Director of Corporate
Governance Services at DFIN. "Companies continue to raise the
disclosure bar, increasing investor expectations."
DFIN clients develop innovative proxy statements with
ActiveDisclosure, which helps them create advanced page designs and
content layouts and visualize data with tables, charts, and graphs
that make the corporate story come to life.
One of ActiveDisclosure's many advantages is that it seamlessly
integrates with Microsoft Office, enabling teams throughout the
company to link source data from existing excel spreadsheets to
maintain data accuracy. Additionally, ActiveDisclosure enables easy
track changes and commenting, which helps teams collaborate quickly
and effectively.
To learn more about ActiveDisclosure for proxy statements and
shareholder communications, visit:
dfinsolutions.com/products/activedisclosure
Download DFIN's Guide to Effective Proxies and register for the
webcast demonstration to learn how to best navigate and use the
guide.
About DFIN
DFIN is a leading global risk and
compliance solutions company. We provide domain expertise,
enterprise software, and data analytics for every stage of our
clients' business and investment lifecycles. Markets fluctuate,
regulations evolve, technology advances, and through it all, DFIN
delivers confidence with the right solutions in moments that
matter. Learn about DFIN's end-to-end risk and compliance solutions
online at DFINsolutions.com, or you can also follow us on Twitter
@DFINSolutions or LinkedIn.
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SOURCE Donnelley Financial LLC