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Initiative Tackles Corporate Political Influence
In the wake of a sea change
about how corporations
think about ethics, compliance
and governance, the
time has come to wrestle
with corporate political influence,
says Wharton professor
William S. Laufer, the director
of Wharton’s Carol and
Lawrence Zicklin Center for
Business Ethics Research.
A new collaborative effort
by the Zicklin Center
and the Center for Political
Accountability (CPA) aims
to do just that. The effort
will focus much greater attention
on company political
spending and activity
and the role of corporate
governance in overseeing
and regulating this activity,
according to Laufer
and CPA executive director
Bruce F. Freed.
“Too little attention has
been paid to this subject,”
Freed said. “Growing company
involvement in the political
process through direct
and indirect spending significantly
raises the risks faced
by companies and shareholders.
It also has an impact
that extends well beyond the
corporation. All of this has
important implications for
corporate governance that
the new CPA-Zicklin effort
will examine.”
Several new initiatives are
planned including a conference
and on corporate governance
corporate political
accountability in February.
Upcoming research includes
a study of how directors carry
out their oversight responsibilities
of company
political spending and activity,
a survey of the codes of
conduct of S&P 500 companies
and how they regulate
political spending, and an
examination of existing regimes
for political disclosure
and accountability of the
U.S. and a range of foreign
countries and companies.
For more information
on the initiative or the conference,
visit the Zicklin
Center’s website at www.zicklincenter.org.
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