The Accountability Board (TAB)

TAB was founded and managed by Matthew Prescott and Joshua Balk, two former employees at the Humane Society of the United States, a left-of-center animal liberation and vegetarianism-advocacy nonprofit. ^{5 1 6}

Activities

The Accountability Board is an investment and advocacy organization that seeks to pressure major publicly traded companies to embrace left-of-center environmental, social and governance principles (ESG). TAB advocates for policy changes at publicly traded companies to make them more heavily influenced by shareholders, including by increasing shareholder ability to remove directors, approve amendments in corporate governance, and assess directors and board composition. Likewise, TAB advocates for companies to provide shareholders with more robust and timely information before voting decisions. TAB also advocates that companies’ “governance, social, and environmental practices should meet or exceed the standards of its market regulations and general practices.” ⁴

TAB conducts its corporate advocacy four main activities: portfolio advocacy, compliance monitoring, analysis and reporting, and board assessments. ^{1 2 3}

Through portfolio advocacy, TAB acts as an active investor in the over 100 large publicly traded companies it invests in, urging companies to change their governance and relationships with shareholders. ³

Through compliance monitoring, TAB tracks corporate disclosures to report inconsistencies to state and federal agencies. ³

Through analysis and reporting, TAB produces reports for investors and stakeholders in companies. ³

Through board assessments, TAB nominates its own preferred candidates to sit on corporate boards. ³

In 2024, The Accountability Board filed a proposal with Papa John’s seeking improved transparency in their promises of diversity goals after the companies promise to improve and promote diversity following their former CEO’s racially charged comments in 2017. ⁷

History

The Accountability Board was founded in September 2022 and received its nonprofit status in 2023. ¹

People

The president, COO, secretary, and treasurer of The Accountability Board is Matthew Prescott. Prescott previously worked as the senior director of food and agriculture for the Humane Society of the United States, a major animal liberation and vegetarianism-advocacy nonprofit. ^{6 1}

The CEO of TAB is Joshua Balk. Balk was previously the vice president of farm animal protection at the Humane Society of the United States. ^{5 1}

Investment Portfolio

The Accountability Board invests in over 100 large publicly traded companies. ³ These companies include Walmart, Kroger, McDonald’s, Target, Exxon Mobil, Amazon, Apple, Wendy’s, Jack in the Box, Kraft Heinz, Oracle, Starbucks, the Walt Disney Company, Nestle, Hilton, Restaurant Brands International, Sysco, Denny’s, Travel Centers of America, Arko, U.S. Foods, Costco, Hormel, Campbell’s, Dollar General, General Mills, Dollar Tree, Pepsico, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Yum!, Tyson, Hostess Brands, Walgreens, CVS, Chipotle, Papa John’s Marriott, Cracker Barrell, Domino’s Pizza, the Hershey Company, the J.M. Smucker Co., Kellog’s, Hyatt, the Cheesecake Factory, and Rite Aid. ²

Financials

According to tax filings, The Accountability Board was founded in the final four months of 2022. During those months, the organization spent $93,451 engaging with companies to promote ESG. During that same time, TAB received $5,832,750 of its $5,850,030 in revenue from interest, dividends, payments received on securities, loans, rents, and royalties, and income from similar sources. ¹

According to its 2023 990 form, the group reported a revenue of $8,682,533, expenses of $915,443, and total assets of $13,922,067. ⁸