Are required SEC proxy disclosures about the board’s role in risk oversight substantive?

•Required proxy disclosures about the board’s role in risk oversight provide substantive information about the quality of an entity’s management and governance.•Boards of entities with higher quality management and governance engage in more specific activities related to board risk oversight than other boards.•Boards more engaged in risk oversight are able to use the discretion provided by the SEC’s disclosure rule to provide substantive and potentially value-relevant information for stakeholders about the entity’s risk management processes and board risk oversight activities.•Boards more engaged in risk oversight as more likely to receive regular reports from management about the top risks facing the entity than other boards.