SEC calls for clearer writing

Get the commission’s free ‘Plain English Handbook’

Proxy statements have become so complex that investors need “a Sherpa guide and a magnifying glass” to figure out what companies spend on executive compensation, according to investor groups.

Now the SEC is mandating that companies write more clearly about executive compensation. That’s information that has too often been hidden in the fine print or obscured by vague language in the past, critics say.

Want to make sure readers can find your point without a Sherpa and magnifying glass? Download the SEC’s fine, free guide to clear writing, “A Plain English Handbook.”

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Source: Jonathan Peterson and Kathy M. Kristof, “More Data on Pay at the Top Is Mandated The SEC votes to require more-detailed, ‘plain English’ disclosure of executive compensation,” Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2006