DFIN Publishes its 12th Annual Guide to Effective Proxies

Hot trends include cybersecurity rules, shareholder engagement, and sustainability efforts

CHICAGO, Sept. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — DFIN, a leading risk and compliance company, today released its annual Guide to Effective Proxies. The 12th edition of the comprehensive and widely used guide aims to help companies transform their proxy statements into more effective communications tools for modern-day investors while complying with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. 

This year’s guide features proxy statements from DFIN clients who have raised the bar with their disclosures, in the process creating heightened investor expectations across industries. The guide offers insights and best practices for companies aiming to highlight board diversity, new cybersecurity disclosures, ESG initiatives, and more.

To demonstrate how to navigate and utilize the guide, DFIN will host a webcast on September 25, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. ET. Register for the webcast here.

“DFIN continues to innovate the annual proxy statement, helping over one-third of all U.S. companies produce informative and eye-catching disclosures that appeal to a wide range of discerning stakeholders,” said Craig Clay, President of Global Capital Markets at DFIN. “Our annual guide is the ultimate resource for companies looking to showcase their business through proxy statements, and we are proud of our clients who consistently set the standard as examples of excellence.”

Notable disclosure trends highlighted in the guide include:

Board Diversity: Companies are humanizing boards by using expertly designed charts, graphs, and photographs to highlight board diversity metrics and accompany relevant facts delivered in traditional narrative.

Cybersecurity Rules: Companies are disclosing material cybersecurity incidents and the processes used to manage cybersecurity risks and disclosing company leadership’s role in assessing and managing those risks.

Shareholder Engagement: Companies are creating proxies with stylish designs highlighting governance wins and performance charts showcasing shareholder engagement throughout the year.

Sustainability Efforts (ESG): Companies are increasingly transparent about their impact on the environment, sharing new ways to present related risks and opportunities, transition plans and commitments, metrics, and targets.

Universal Proxy Rule: Companies are reimagining director bios to highlight each individual director’s unique contributions to the board.

“DFIN reviewed over 1,000 client proxies when creating this year’s guide and compiled best-in-class, practical examples intended to help companies comply with new and forthcoming regulations and impress increasingly demanding investors,” said Ron Schneider, Director of Corporate Governance Services at DFIN. “Companies continue to raise the disclosure bar, increasing investor expectations.”

DFIN clients develop innovative proxy statements with ActiveDisclosure, which helps them create advanced page designs and content layouts and visualize data with tables, charts, and graphs that make the corporate story come to life.

One of ActiveDisclosure’s many advantages is that it seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Office, enabling teams throughout the company to link source data from existing excel spreadsheets to maintain data accuracy. Additionally, ActiveDisclosure enables easy track changes and commenting, which helps teams collaborate quickly and effectively.

To learn more about ActiveDisclosure for proxy statements and shareholder communications, visit: dfinsolutions.com/products/activedisclosure

Download DFIN’s Guide to Effective Proxies and register for the webcast demonstration to learn how to best navigate and use the guide.

About DFIN
DFIN is a leading global risk and compliance solutions company. We provide domain expertise, enterprise software, and data analytics for every stage of our clients’ business and investment lifecycles. Markets fluctuate, regulations evolve, technology advances, and through it all, DFIN delivers confidence with the right solutions in moments that matter. Learn about DFIN’s end-to-end risk and compliance solutions online at DFINsolutions.com, or you can also follow us on Twitter @DFINSolutions or LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Donnelley Financial LLC