One of the elements of the Dodd-Frank Act aimed primarily at reforming the nation's banks is directing the Securities and Exchange Commission to write rules that could temper the compensation of executives across multiple industries. RiskMetrics and a couple other proxy advisory firms are expected to make recommendations to a large chunk of the U.S. institutional investor community about whether to accept a particular pay package. Steven Balsam, professor of accounting at Temple's Fox School of Business, said that these proxy advisory companies will wield a lot of power. "If a company believes that RiskMetrics is going to reject their plan they will go to RiskMetrics, behind-the-scenes, and say, 'What can we do to get your approval?'"