Boards Getting Tougher on Risk and Clawbacks: Conference Board study

More boards are adopting clawback provisions, and looking more closely at risk oversight, according to a survey released on Monday by The Conference Board.

In the 2010 U.S. Directors’ Compensation and Board Practices Report, based on data gathered in May and June, questions spanned a broader range of subjects than previously, including CEO succession planning, say-on-pay, and gross-ups, as well as the aforementioned clawback provisions.

Matteo Tonello, director of corporate governance research at The Conference Board and an author of the report, said in a statement, “Over the last decade, our annual study has documented a steady transformation in the role of public companies’ boards, underscoring the increasing importance of directors’ monitoring responsibilities and the growing influence of shareholders. The new developments of the last few months alone, from the SEC regulation on disclosure enhancement to the governance provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, illustrate the importance of capturing the practices we have added to our annual survey.”