The Conference Board Publishes Handbook on Corporate Political Activity to Help Companies Navigate Campaign Spending

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Nov 01, 2010, 01:00 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Against the backdrop of a mid-term election season characterized by unprecedented spending from often unclear sources, The Conference Board today published a groundbreaking Handbook on Corporate Political Activity to help companies responsibly navigate the risk-laden environment of campaign spending. The Handbook draws upon input from numerous executives, directors, and institutional shareholders and focuses specifically on the evolving governance issues related to political engagement.

"The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC has significantly increased the avenues for corporate political activity, and the next proxy season will almost certainly bring increased shareholder proposals on spending disclosure and board oversight," said Paul DeNicola, Director of The Conference Board Governance Center and a co-author of the Handbook. "Companies must ensure their internal controls and compliance systems take account of this, and that managements and boards understand their roles and the implications of operating in this new environment."

"Whatever happens on the legislative front, any corporation participating in political activity without a rigorous governance oversight process heightens its risk exposure," said Bruce Freed, President of The Center for Political Accountability, a co-author of the Handbook. "Decisions about government affairs need to be integrated across a company and its governance. The handbook offers a guide for creating an ethical corporate culture, to bring meaningful transparency and accountability to how a company handles political spending."

The Handbook outlines policies, procedures and emerging best practices on political engagement, highlighting key elements of effective programs. Co-authored also by Stefan C. Passantino, a partner at McKenna, Long & Aldridge, and Karl J. Sandstrom of Perkins Coie LLP, the Handbook addresses:

The legal framework for understanding political giving, including an overview of federal/state pay-to-play laws
How corporations can monitor the political engagement and policy positions of the trade associations to which they belong
Standards of director conduct that can potentially be applied to political activity
The rewards of a robust political engagement program, and the risks if such programs aren't managed well
Examples of companies that have successfully managed political engagement programs
The importance of embedding political-spending decisions into a corporation's ethical framework.

The Conference Board and The Conference Board Governance Center have a long history of principled leadership in the public interest. This Handbook is available for public download free of charge.

http://www.conference-board.org/publications/publicationdetail.cfm?publicationid=1867

About The Conference Board

The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org

About The Conference Board Governance Center

The Conference Board Governance Center brings together distinguished groups of senior corporate executives from leading companies and institutional investors in non-adversarial settings. The Center's mission is to promote optimal corporate governance practices for public companies that enhance performance, public trust, and market confidence.

Also from The Conference Board on this topic:

Directors Roundtable Programs (http://www.conference-board.org/governance/index.cfm?id=2144)

Corporate Governance Crash Course (http://www.conference-board.org/governance/index.cfm?id=2139)

Governance Webcasts (http://www.conference-board.org/topics/webcastlisting.cfm?subtopicid=20)

Shareholder Activism (http://www.conference-board.org/publications/publicationdetail.cfm?publicationid=1755)

Corporate Governance Handbook (http://www.conference-board.org/publications/publicationdetail.cfm?publicationid=1693)

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