S&P; Unveils ‘Transparency’ Study

Standard & Poor’s, the credit rating firm, Tuesday launched a corporate governance practice and unveiled a study that ranks companies in the blue-chip S&P; 500 index by their “transparency and disclosure.”

The move comes amid continuing debate about how to bolster investor confidence and improve the way publicly traded companies report information that affects their business, as investors struggle to make sense of financial collapses such as those of Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc.

Using a 1-to-10 ranking -- with 10 representing the fullest and clearest level of transparency and disclosure -- Standard & Poor’s listed 98.8% of S&P; 500 companies as 7s or 8s overall, based on a composite analysis of the companies’ annual reports and other regulatory filings.

Only six companies in the index, which is home to 500 of the largest public U.S. firms, received overall scores other than 7 or 8.

The study hinged on 98 questions and looked at issues ranging from ownership structure and investor rights to board management and processes.