Great design can be applied to everything from automobiles to smartphones to kitchen appliances. But proxy statements?
Yes, absolutely! In fact, DFIN recently released its 12th annual Guide to Effective Proxies, which shows just how proxy statements can leverage design principles to communicate ideas more effectively.
This is especially important today, when companies must communicate to an ever-growing list of stakeholders, from investors to regulators to activists. Loaded with examples, the DFIN proxy guide demonstrates a variety of techniques and also delves into the latest trends around board diversity, cybersecurity, and ESG.
A few pointers illustrated in the guide:
- Forget boring, pro-forma front covers. Put the most important messages that you want to convey on the cover. It’s the first thing readers (voters) will see, so make good use of the space.
- Don’t assume that investors have all the information they need about your company. Include your business’s top-line messaging — especially your strategy — in the opening pages.
- Create easy-to-understand infographics that summarize key messages. Investors are increasingly using AI to summarize proxies. But there’s no guarantee AI will catch everything you want investors to know — so create your own summaries. These can be used to emphasize important areas, such as cybersecurity disclosures.
- Use timelines to show progress over an extended period, such as the evolution of your compensation program or timing of clean energy investments.
- Move beyond director bios and headshots. Boards are taking on additional responsibilities, and as a result companies are reaching out to a more diverse pool of candidates. Some of the most innovative enterprises are looking for better ways to tell directors’ stories in proxy statements — for example, by letting directors speak for themselves via Q&As that highlight their unique interests and capabilities.
Remember, in designing your proxy, the aesthetics are not fluff! They help convey the vital information contained inside. DFIN’s Guide to Effective Proxies includes more than 1,300 best-in-class examples from over 300 companies demonstrating how to use design to create proxy statements that reflect company, board, and executive strength and quality.
As we approach the end of the year, companies are planning their 2025 annual reports and proxy statements — so now is the perfect time to get the guide as well as view the accompanying webinar.
Executives looking to create impactful proxy statements that resonate with shareholders can also explore DFIN’s ActiveDisclosure financial reporting software, which allows businesses to:
- Leverage familiar content formatting and styling tools
- Present complex information using advanced data visualizations
- Link source data from Excel to maintain data accuracy
- And more
