In the cover article in the June issue of Forbes magazine, called Crony Capitalism, author Elizabeth Macdonald studied 520 company reports to find disclosed information required by the Sarbanes-Oxley bill, signed into law on July 30, 2002. (Full Article)

The Forbes article identified the eight most common transactions and ranked them by frequency – with the reminder that none of these arrangements are illegal (though new corporate loans would be):

Out of curiosity, WhatTheyThink did a quick review of the companies listed in the daily Stock Watch for the same types of activities. For those who want all the details take a look at a company’s Annual Report (10K) under Item 13 “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions,” or scan the proxy filing that generally follows the Annual Report. These transactions are published in the new spirit of “corporate transparency” engendered by legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley bill.