“We have serious concerns with the approach taken by the committee today. Government mandated actions as a substitute for decisions made by shareholders takes us in the wrong direction. This policy – implemented on an annual basis – may only exacerbate the focus on short-term gains at the expense of long-term economic growth and job creation, a factor identified as a cause of the financial crisis,” said John J. Castellani, President of Business Roundtable.

“Business Roundtable has long supported pay for results and transparency about executive compensation. For shareholders who believe a say on pay vote is necessary at their company, they may submit shareholder proposals requesting such a vote. Advisory votes have been implemented at a number of companies that received shareholder proposals on this topic.”

“Following today’s meeting, it is critical that the committee keep in mind that a one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate for compensation issues.”

“Business Roundtable also has a strong record of supporting corporate governance and disclosure reforms, pre-dating Sarbanes-Oxley, the securities markets corporate governance listing standards and SEC executive compensation disclosure rules.”