NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has demanded harsher corporate governance since the collapse of Enron, and a leading business group on Tuesday took a more aggressive step, calling for more disclosure, restrictions on executive stocks sales, options and compensation.

The New York-based Conference Board's Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Trust said corporate leaders should be required to announce in advance plans to sell company stock so they can't take advantage of inside knowledge that allows them to predict fluctuations of shares better than the investing public.

SEC chairman Harvey Pitt agreed and said it is a long overdue and positive step to help restore investor confidence amid an atmosphere of deepening suspicion that top business executives have been out to enrich themselves at the expense of average shareholders.

He told Lou Dobbs on CNN's Lou Dobbs Moneyline that "this an area which business has to show the American investing public that it really cares about what happens to them."

Pitt also pointed out that corporate leaders should only get paid for performance, and "they shouldn't be paid when they don't produce."

He told Dobbs that the most critical task ahead of us is to make sure that options are always approved by shareholders. "They are fully disclosed to the shareholders, so they know exactly what's going on," he added.

RELATED STORIES       Business leaders seek reform

The Conference Board's commission, formed in June, has been working on a wide range of recommendations to restore confidence in corporate America.