CED released a policy statement last month, Private Enterprise, Public Trust: The State of Corporate America After Sarbanes-Oxley (PDF), that examines the state of corporate governance in the United States and offers recommendations for restoring public trust in business. 
  
Sarbanes-Oxley regulations and other new government-imposed rules, though beneficial on balance and deserving of time to become fully effective, are not sufficient to restore trust in business, notes the CED statement. CED recommends additional changes -- in financial statements, executive compensation, selection of corporate boards, and other matters -- that do not require new government mandates.

"CED, as a public-policy organization in which current and retired business leaders play a prominent role, is concerned about the reality, as well as the appearance, of corporate impropriety," said Charles E.M. Kolb, CED President. "We are unwavering advocates for the free market system, but we are just as firm in our belief that businesses and their leaders must earn the public's trust. Perceptions that firms flout rules, behave unethically, and use deceptive business processes weaken confidence in, and support for, the free enterprise system."

CED's recommendations include:

• Making audit committees autonomous and vigorous. 
• Ensuring that users understand that financial information is based on judgments
• Giving Sarbanes-Oxley a change to work
• Taming excessive executive compensation
• Using independent nominating committees to select and appraise directors

CED's policy statement addresses governmental and corporate policies that affect the behavior of publicly traded companies, as well as the confidence of investors in them.

For more information: www.ced.org