As economies start to reemerge from COVID crisis mode, environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors are rising in importance. A global survey conducted by NAVEX Global shows that 67 percent of respondents in...more
ANTICORRUPTION DEVELOPMENTS - MTS Receives DOJ and SEC Declination Letters Concluding FCPA Investigations - On August 7, 2017, MTS Systems (MTS), a Minnesota based maker of test systems and industrial position...more
• This enforcement action highlights the heightened sanctions compliance and enforcement risk that companies face when engaging third-party consultants to perform due diligence on counterparties. U.S. persons must make clear...more
Many companies have been laser-focused on anti-corruption compliance, and with good reason given the risks and consequences of an anti-corruption enforcement action. In doing so, companies have to be careful to avoid ignoring...more
GAO released an analysis of a generalizable sample of conflict minerals disclosures filed with SEC in 2015. The analysis found that an estimated 49 percent of companies in 2015 reported having determined whether the conflict...more
On January 31, 2017, Michael Piwowar, Acting Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), issued two Statements regarding the current status of guidance on and implementation of the conflict minerals rules....more
Two consulting firms, Assent Compliance and Source Intelligence, have published their studies on conflict minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold) reporting for 2015, the third year of required SEC reporting. For 2015,...more
Year three of conflict minerals reporting is fast approaching, with Form SD filings due on May 31st. The good news, and the bad news, is that not much has changed since last year....more
To no one’s surprise, on Friday, the SEC and Amnesty International filed petitions for en banc rehearing in the conflict minerals case, National Association of Manufacturers, Inc. v. SEC. That case, decided two-to-one in...more
The "DRC Conflict Undeterminable" determination, widely employed in conflict minerals reports to date, will not be permitted for issuers (other than small companies) reporting in 2016 on activities in calendar year 2015. At...more
In a long-awaited decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (DC Circuit) reaffirmed its prior decision, striking down one aspect of the SEC’s conflict minerals disclosure...more
A new study on conflict minerals compliance from Tulane University and Assent Compliance, a compliance software and services firm, revealed that, about 90% of filers of conflict minerals reports indicated that they were...more