“I agree…that we should reconsider the number of executives for whom compensation information is provided,” Atkins said, according to a copy of the prepared remarks. In a regulatory agenda unveiled in September, the SEC said it planned to change rules on corporate disclosure. And in his remarks Tuesday, Atkins said potential changes include ways to simplify executive pay criteria rather than executive “perks” and reclassify some personal protections as requirements.
Among other possible changes, Atkins also suggested narrowing the circumstances in which companies must report transactions involving companies with ties to the families of executives.
“The rule makes no distinction based on the closeness or continuity of the relationship,” Atkins said. “Perhaps a more workable standard for ‘immediate family members’ is whether the executive has shared a Thanksgiving meal with them in the past year.” Since taking the role in April, Atkins has laid out plans to embrace the cryptocurrency sector and while the White House, which has asserted direct control over the SEC, has also called for an end to quarterly reporting, opening a new tab for shareholder disputes and reforms. With support from some corporate leaders, Atkins and other Republicans have aimed to include pay disclosure rules implemented after the 2008 financial crisis meant to give investors a clearer picture of managers’ incentives. Democrats have argued for pay disclosures and limits that they say are necessary to reduce risky behavior.
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