Bruce F. Freed is president and co-founder of the Center for Political Accountability; Karl Sandstrom is the Center’s counsel and senior counsel at Perkins Coie; and Nanyamka Springer is the Center’s vice president for programs. This post is based on a CPA publication by Mr. Freed, Mr. Sandstrom, and Ms.Springer. Related research from the Program on Corporate Governance includes Shining Light on Corporate Political Spending and Corporate Political Speech: Who Decides?, both by Lucian Bebchuk and Robert Jackson (discussed on the Forum here and here), and Corporate Politics, Governance, and Value Before and after Citizens United by John C. Coates.
Public corporations in the United States are increasingly recognizing a need for greater sunlight, board oversight, and carefully considered restrictions on their political spending, according to a non-partisan study by the Center for Political Accountability and the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
The study found that the number of public companies voluntarily adopting political disclosure and accountability measures has continued to increase in the first year of the Trump administration and that numerous companies have strengthened their transparency and oversight programs.