Bogle Pushes for Corporate Accountability

In the wake of Enron’s financial meltdown, the inventor of the index fund and founder of the Vanguard Group is proposing that the mutual fund industry start pushing corporations to be more responsible about the accuracy of earnings reports, the compensation of their executives and the independence of their auditors, according to a story in today’s Wall Street Journal.

John Bogle, who is now mostly retired from his duties at Vanguard, is expected to address the issue today at a meeting of the New York Society of Security Analysts, and could suggest that the industry form a new shareholder advocacy group, according to the Journal.

He told the newspaper that big shareholders can have a say in corporate governance issues by voting down excessive executive salaries and demanding that financial reports more accurately reveal the true health of a given company.

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