Public companies that want to avoid being targeted publicly by institutional investors and other activists with respect to political spending disclosures can take proactive steps to mitigate their exposure, Covington & Burling LLP attorneys said March 21.
One first move would be for a company to improve its so-called “CPA-Zicklin Index” score, which often serves as an early red flag to investors, suggested Robert Kelner, a Washington-based Covington partner.The CPA-Zicklin Index of Corporate Political Accountability and Disclosure—a collaborative effort between the Center for Political Accountability and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business’s Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research—annually rates the top 200 companies in the S&P 500 based on their perceived level of political expenditure disclosures.