(Dis)Closing in on Perfection?

Public Companies and Securities Partner David Cole was quoted in a Compliance Week article titled "(Dis)Closing in on Perfection?"

The article reports that although pushing social policy by way of corporate disclosure is not exactly new to federal securities law, it is becoming more common. The Council of Institutional Investors favors the disclosure requirement on corporate political spending, calling transparency in general the cornerstone of good corporate governance. Mr. Cole agrees with the use of corporate disclosure to address social matters. Citing the conflict minerals rule and supply chain transparency as examples, he said, "When Congress regulates through mandatory disclosures, companies will have to disclose this information and people will start to see the reality behind all the human atrocities resulting from certain business activities." Mr. Cole argues that the best way to address social issues is to put them into public view, and only through mandatory public disclosure will corporations help to disseminate that information to the public. "While collecting and disclosing that data does carry a cost, most companies involved will already have internal resources in place to comply with such requirements," he said.