The Center for Political Accountability (CPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that was created to bring transparency and accountability to corporate political spending. It was formed to address the secrecy that cloaks much of the political activity engaged in by companies and the risks this poses to shareholder value. Since 2003, CPA has become a recognized national leader, spearheading a highly visible and effective campaign for corporate political disclosure.
Working with more than 30 shareholder advocates, CPA is the only group to directly engage companies to improve disclosure and oversight of their political spending. This has included soft money contributions and payments to trade associations and to other tax-exempt organizations, such as non-profit “social welfare” 501(c)(4) organizations, that are used for political purposes.
The Center’s goals are to encourage responsible corporate political activity, protect shareholders, and strengthen the integrity of the political process. Today, the Center’s mission has become even more critical in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010, which unleashed a surge in corporate political spending. As a result of Citizens United, companies face greater pressure to spend corporate dollars either directly or indirectly through conduits such as trade associations and 501(c)(4) groups.
Core Values
INNOVATION: CPA uses an innovative strategy of shareholder engagement to persuade corporations to disclose their political spending, and to oversee it.
COLLABORATION: CPA has teamed up with some of the premier business organizations and academic institutions in the U.S. to sponsor groundbreaking roundtables, write authoritative reports, produce the annual CPA-Zicklin Index on Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability (beginning in 2011) and develop the first business school course focusing on these issues.
DISTINCTION: For its pioneering work, CPA won the prestigious Joan Bavaria Innovation Award in 2010 from Ceres, the largest coalition of socially responsible investors, environmental groups and public interest organizations in North America.
EXPOSURE: CPA has captured extensive national attention in both mainstream news media and business media, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg News Service, NPR, and Financial Times. Our op-eds have appeared in The Washington Post, Reuters, The Hill, US News & World Report, and Financial Times.
