Despite a downward trend in the overall number of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) shareholder proposals, support for shareholder proposals demanding increased political accountability and transparency surged in the 2025 proxy season…
CPA’s 2025 report, Corporate Political Spending: What Are the Real Risk?, underscores the reputational and legal hazards of misaligned political spending.
Campaign spending disclosure proposals passed at five companies this season, and eight others saw similar resolutions.
Companies have a duty to protect shareholders from a range of risks – especially those that threaten revenue and competitiveness in a global economy. As corporate political spending grows more complex, so do the financial and reputational risks it poses.
“If you’re going to give, you have to have robust disclosures and oversight,” Freed said.
This proxy season, 13 companies have seen basically the same disclosure resolution on their ballots, according to figures from the non-partisan Center for Political Accountability, with the final one facing a vote last Friday…five majority votes in one season is almost unheard of. The resolution won one majority vote last year.
When retribution from the Oval Office threatens the nation’s legal system, there is cause for worry in C-Suites across America.
“While the companies making these contributions may be seeking a favorable regulatory environment, these political donations further erode public trust and expose companies to legal, reputational, and business risks…”
A new report warns of “profound risks” in American politics as cryptocurrency companies increase their political spending and Donald Trump oversees regulatory retreat while promising to create a “crypto strategic reserve”.
What is a 501(c)(4) organization? According to The 2024 CPA-Zicklin Index of Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability, IRC section 501(c)(4) exempts from federal income tax “certain civic groups and nonprofit organizations, whose primary purpose is to promote social welfare.”