Representing major corporations with the Federal Government for nearly 40 years, I viewed my position as akin to a risk manager. I was continually on the watch for opportunities to move our legislative and regulatory agenda forward while being aware of the political and reputation risks and rewards. For years, however, the overwhelming focus was…
CEOs are looking to keep doors open” with both Republicans and Democrats.
Even as some corporate bigwigs have taken to the sidelines, Trump’s fundraising has outstripped President Biden’s.
It’s a real problem and it raises questions in terms of conflicts and what the companies are doing, and how their money is being used,” said Bruce Freed, the president of the nonpartisan Center for Political Accountability.
“Climate change is such an important area of risk,” says Jeanne Hanna, research director at the Center for Political Accountability. “A lot of companies acknowledge that they face quantifiable economic risks if climate change carries on. It can do damage to their markets. It could do damage to their production. Companies themselves recognize it as…
Of the 345 companies that have been on the S&P 500 since 2015, 270 of them now prohibit or fully disclose spending on candidates or their committees. That’s up from 168 a few years prior, according to CPA’s analysis
Political spending to support controversial policies and leaders thrives in darkness. And no spending has defied necessary scrutiny more than the bigger and bigger donations that public corporations are giving to state attorneys generals through partisan third-party groups.
“The index is recognized by companies as credible and serious. It is respected,” Bruce Freed, CPA president, told DMI. “Increasingly, companies want to be ‘Trendsetters’ (achieving scores of 90+ out of 100) that they can tout to show their best practices. In the 2023 index, 39% of the S&P 500 were in the top quintile.”
Even if executives hope to steer clear of this election, “if they engage in political spending, they’re speaking,” said Bruce Freed, president of The Center For Political Accountability, which has pushed for spending disclosures. “They won’t be sitting it out. As long as they’re giving, that creates risk because of what it associates them with.”
There’s a noticeable trend in the S&P 500 towards political disclosure and accountability becoming the norm, with a significant percentage of companies scoring high on the CPA-Zicklin Index of Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability.