ISS-Corporate

What ISS-Corporate does

ISS-Corporate (legal name: ISS Corporate Solutions, Inc.) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and operates as a global provider of corporate governance, executive compensation, corporate sustainability, sustainable finance, and cyber risk data, analytics, and advisory solutions. Headquartered in Rockville, Maryland with 229 employees distributed across 17 offices in 14 countries, the firm serves two primary customer segments: large corporations and advisory firms that require data-driven ratings, peer benchmarking, and regulatory-aligned reporting tools. Its core product suite includes the Corporate Rating (a twelve-point A+ to D- grade across approximately 100 indicators per industry), the Governance QualityScore (1–10 risk scale across Board Structure, Compensation, Shareholder Rights, and Audit & Risk Oversight), the Cyber Risk Score (300–850 forward-looking likelihood of a material cyber incident within 12 months), and the SDG Impact Rating (–10 to +10 across the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and 100+ data factors).

The underlying technology is a data-driven analytics platform built on a proprietary corporate data repository that aggregates market trends, regulatory frameworks, and peer comparisons. All products are delivered through the Compass client portal, which also supports data verification (allowing issuers to review and validate over 400 governance and compensation datapoints) and provides access to ratings, scores, and an ESG Gateway. Distribution combines direct enterprise sales with personalized demos for large clients and a self-serve portal for existing customers.

The business model is mixed: subscription-based enterprise software and data access generates recurring revenue, complemented by professional services including Second Party Opinions for Green, Social, and Sustainability-linked finance frameworks and paid data verification offerings. Pricing is opaque and quote-based, with free access granted to companies within the ISS-Corporate coverage universe for verification purposes. The firm is approved as an external reviewer under the EU Green Bond Regulation, and it launched an ISSB-aligned sustainability reporting solution in 2026 covering IFRS S1 and S2, with parallel go-to-market activity across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific.

Name

ISS-Corporate

Legal name

ISS Corporate Solutions, Inc.

Website

https://iss-corporate.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

ISS-Corporate, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), provides ESG ratings, governance analytics, executive compensation advisory, sustainable finance, and cyber risk solutions to large corporations and advisory firms globally across 14 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

ESG and Corporate Governance Analytics Software

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Software Publishers (513210), Credit Bureaus (561450)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Governance & Board Effectiveness Advisory (BPAHAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Capital Markets Advisory (IPO Readiness, SPAC, ECM/DCM Advisory) (BPAHAOAL), Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Advisory (JVs, Alliances, Carve-outs) (BPAHAOAG)

Keywords

• Corporate governance solutions
• ESG data analytics
• Sustainability ratings
• Cyber risk scoring
• Executive compensation advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Subscription-based Software and Data Solutions: Enterprise software subscriptions providing access to governance, compensation, sustainability, and cyber risk analytics platforms. Clients access ratings, scores, and data through the Compass platform.
2. Data Verification Services: Corporate issuer data verification services allowing companies to review, verify, and provide feedback on data used to determine their scores. Available free of charge to all companies within coverage universe.
3. Second Party Opinions: Independent reviews of Green, Social, and Sustainability-linked finance frameworks providing external verification for bond issuers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ISS-Corporate is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) that provides data-driven corporate governance, executive compensation, sustainability, sustainable finance, and cyber risk solutions to large corporations and advisory firms. Its core offerings include proprietary ESG ratings and scores (Corporate Rating, Governance QualityScore, E&S QualityScore, SDG Impact Rating, Fund Rating, Cyber Risk Score) delivered through the Compass client portal, alongside advisory services for governance, compensation, sustainability, sustainable finance verification, and data verification.

Product overview

ISS-Corporate operates as an ESG data, ratings, and advisory services firm offering a portfolio of ratings products and consulting services. The core rating products include Corporate Rating (A+ to D- grading), Governance QualityScore (1-10 risk scoring), E&S QualityScore, SDG Impact Rating (-10 to +10), Fund Rating, and Cyber Risk Score (300-850 scale). These are accessed through the Compass client portal. The advisory service offerings span Corporate Governance, Executive Compensation, Corporate Sustainability, Sustainable Finance, and Cyber Risk solutions. Supporting services include Data Verification, Second Party Opinion for green bonds, and the ESG Gateway platform. ISS-Corporate also provides content resources including the ESG Unlocked Podcast and publishes research through blog posts and reports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Compass (Client Portal)

Quantifiable outcome

• Independent external review as EU Green Bond Standard approved reviewer, leading 9 of 25 published factsheets
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS)coreOthersISS-Corporate is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS). ISS is the parent company providing corporate governance and shareholder engagement services globally.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Workiva: Workiva provides a SaaS platform for ESG, sustainability, and governance reporting used by large enterprises for SEC and CSRD disclosures. While not a pure ratings provider, it competes for the same corporate sustainability budget and overlaps with ISS-Corporate's reporting-solution use cases.

Broad incumbents

• MSCI ESG Research: MSCI's ESG Research arm provides corporate ESG ratings, screening, and analytics to institutional investors and corporates. It is the largest ESG data incumbent and competes with ISS-Corporate's Corporate Rating, QualityScore, and SDG Impact Rating products across governance and sustainability analytics.
• Sustainalytics (Morningstar): Sustainalytics, owned by Morningstar, offers ESG risk ratings, second-party opinions, and governance research used by asset managers and corporates. It directly overlaps with ISS-Corporate's governance and sustainable-finance solutions and competes for the same enterprise and advisory-firm buyers.
• Moody's ESG Solutions: Moody's ESG Solutions (formerly Moody's Analytics ESG) provides ESG scores, climate data, and sustainability assessments tied to its credit ratings franchise. It overlaps with ISS-Corporate's Corporate Rating, E&S QualityScore, and sustainable-finance second-party opinion offerings for corporate and issuer clients.
• S&P Global ESG Scores: S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (formerly SAM ESG Ratings) provides company-level ESG scores used in the S&P ESG Indices. Its broad data distribution and overlap with S&P 500 institutional flows make it a direct competitive incumbent to ISS-Corporate's Corporate Rating and QualityScore products.
• Bloomberg ESG: Bloomberg's ESG data product provides company-level ESG indicators and scores embedded in the Bloomberg Terminal, giving it unmatched distribution to institutional investors. It competes for the same analytical budget that corporates and advisory firms allocate to ISS-Corporate's governance and sustainability ratings.

Direct peers

• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): CDP runs a global environmental disclosure system used by thousands of corporates to report climate, water, and forest impact. Its disclosure ratings and scoring methodology overlap with ISS-Corporate's SDG Impact Rating and Corporate Sustainability Solutions, particularly for sustainability-reporting buyers.
• EcoVadis: EcoVadis provides corporate sustainability ratings and scorecards focused on supply chains and procurement. Its outside-in sustainability assessments directly overlap with ISS-Corporate's Corporate Sustainability and Corporate Rating products for large multinational corporates.

Others

• Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS): ISS (the parent) is the dominant proxy advisory firm providing governance research and voting recommendations to institutional investors. While ISS-Corporate is a wholly-owned subsidiary, the parent operates in an adjacent space and shares data infrastructure, brand, and corporate-governance IP with ISS-Corporate.

Regional players

• Glass Lewis: Glass Lewis is ISS's main competitor in the proxy advisory and governance research market. While its primary focus is investor-side governance, its Corporate Solutions group offers services that overlap with ISS-Corporate's Corporate Governance Solutions for issuers preparing for proxy season.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iss-corporate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ISS-Corporate