The SEC's review of the corporate proxy process includes an examination of the accuracy of proxy voting tabulations, Chairwoman Mary Schapiro said today.
“We want to ensure that the U.S. proxy voting system as a whole operates with the degree of reliability, accuracy, transparency and integrity that shareholders and companies have the right to expect,” Ms. Schapiro said in prepared remarks at a seminar sponsored by the Practicing Law Institute in New York.
As part of the review, the SEC is expected to seek public comment on a variety of issues, including “ways to ensure accuracy in vote tabulation,” according to her speech.
Ms. Schapiro also said a proposed regulation allowing qualified shareholders to nominate directors to corporate boards is expected to be voted on by the commission early next year, but not in time for the 2010 proxy season.
“We think it's far more important that we adopt the right rules — rules that make sense and are workable — than it is for us to act rashly,” she said.
