Corporate Governance

Manufacturers depend on public markets to finance business growth, job creation and economic expansion, and workers rely on the success of publicly traded companies for their savings and retirement. Policymakers should rein in unregulated third parties, enable manufacturers to engage effectively with their shareholders and protect middle-class investors.

Key Facts

93%
of manufacturers agreed the federal tax code should help reduce manufacturers’ costs for conducting R&D and accessing capital
67%
of manufacturers cited the inability to attract and retain employees as their top primary challenge
59%
of manufacturers cited an unfavorable business climate as a primary business concern

Supporting Capital Formation and Protecting Investors

Manufacturers depend on the public capital markets to finance business growth, job creation and economic expansion. Manufacturing workers, meanwhile, may rely on the success of publicly traded companies to help them invest for a new home, a child’s education or a secure retirement.

Lawmakers should take steps to protect manufacturing families and support the development of the manufacturing economy. Reducing the influence of unregulated third parties, reinforcing all market actors’ fiduciary duty to investors, strengthening the U.S. pension system and ensuring companies can focus on long-term growth and economic expansion will give manufacturers—and all Americans—the ability to create a more prosperous future for themselves and their families.

 

From small businesses seeking early stage financing to publicly traded companies navigating the capital markets, the NAM’s corporate governance advocacy is critical to supporting the growth of manufacturers across the country. By ensuring that policymakers in D.C. understand our industry, the NAM is preserving manufacturers’ ability to finance growth, R&D and job creation while also protecting the investments of millions of Americans who depend on manufacturing for a secure retirement.
— Nicole Wolter, President and CEO, HM Manufacturing Inc.

What Should We Do Now?

Below are critical policy recommendations that Congress and the president should act on to promote a corporate governance agenda for the future.

READ MORE IN “COMPETING TO WIN”

  1. 1
    Enforce the new Securities and Exchange Commission rules increasing oversight of proxy advisory firms and reforming the shareholder proposal process.
  2. 2
    Reform the SEC’s proposed climate disclosures rule to make the requirements more workable for public companies and ensure that investors have access to material information about manufacturers’ efforts to combat climate change.
  3. 3
    Ensure that fund managers and ERISA fiduciaries fulfill their fiduciary duty to everyday investors and pensioners.
  4. 4
    Provide for effective oversight of proxy advisory firms and proxy ratings agencies.
  1. 5
    Ensure that any ESG disclosure obligations focus on material information relevant to company performance and shareholders’ investing decisions.
  2. 6
    Repeal or reform disclosure requirements that do not provide material, decision-useful information for investors.
  3. 7
    Avoid imposing corporate governance mandates that would limit manufacturers’ ability to efficiently allocate capital or recruit and retain a 21st-century workforce.
  4. 8
    Continue to bolster the single and multiemployer pension systems to provide certainty for businesses and retirement security for families.

Share Your Voice

By sharing our voices, manufacturers play a vital role in advocating for the ability of all Americans to create a more prosperous future for themselves and their families.

We encourage you to share with us your thoughts on why lawmakers should help support and drive a corporate governance agenda for the future. In doing so, you’re helping to equip the NAM with our most powerful advocacy tool: the manufacturing voice.