The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) recently released for public comment a draft five-year strategic plan for 2022-2026, setting forth targeted objectives that are oriented around four primary goals: (1)...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently revisited two proxy-related matters by (a) adopting amendments to the proxy rules governing proxy voting advice and (b) proposing amendments to the shareholder proposal rule in...more
7/26/2022
/ Comment Period ,
Corporate Governance ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Proxy Voting ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
SEC Acting Chief Accountant Paul Munter re-emphasized the SEC’s focus on auditor independence in his June 8 statement on “The Critical Importance of the General Standard of Auditor Independence and an Ethical Culture for the...more
Yesterday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) proposed groundbreaking rules intended to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosure requirements for public companies. The SEC’s climate...more
3/23/2022
/ Annual Reports ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
SEC Acting Chief Accountant Paul Munter released a statement last week, Assessing Materiality: Focusing on the Reasonable Investor When Evaluating Errors (the “Statement”), that is sure to become required reading for any...more
On March 9, 2022, the SEC proposed rules, by a 3-1 vote, that are intended to enhance disclosures about cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance, and incident reporting by public companies. The proposed rules are...more
3/11/2022
/ Comment Period ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 8-K ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On December 15, the same day it proposed amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) that may blunt the use of the affirmative defense for insider trading, the Securities and Exchange...more
12/28/2021
/ Amended Regulation ,
Closed-End Funds ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Foreign Issuers ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 10-Q ,
Investment Funds ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Required Forms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Regulation ,
Share Buybacks ,
Stock Repurchases
In June 2021, Chairman Gary Gensler of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expressed the view that it was time to “freshen up” Exchange Act Rule 10b5-1 - the rule that provides an affirmative defense to claims of...more
12/28/2021
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Trading Policies
Last week, the SEC announced the adoption of Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 120 (SAB 120), which provides guidance for companies as to how they should recognize and disclose the cost of providing “spring-loaded” awards to...more
12/10/2021
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fair Value Standard ,
Financial Accounting ,
Incentive Stock Options ,
Internal Controls ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
MD&A Statements ,
New Regulations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Options
Yesterday, the SEC adopted amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA). These amendments finalize the interim final rules...more
12/6/2021
/ Amended Regulation ,
Annual Reports ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Issuers ,
Holding Companies ,
PCAOB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
XBRL Filing Requirements
As year-end fast approaches, there has been no shortage of regulatory developments relevant to the upcoming financial reporting season. Several of these developments are summarized below....more
11/10/2021
/ Auditor Independence ,
Audits ,
Clawbacks ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Governance ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Statements ,
Inspections ,
PCAOB ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On Friday, the SEC approved Nasdaq listing rules related to board diversity. The new Board Diversity Rule establishes diversity objectives for different classes of Nasdaq-listed companies and related disclosure requirements....more
8/10/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
LGBTQ ,
Listing Standards ,
Minorities ,
Nasdaq ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Woman Board Members
On Friday, SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued a statement concerning investor protection related to recent developments in China. The statement summarizes risks to US investors as a result of recent government-led developments in...more
On June 11, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced its Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (RegFlex Agenda). The RegFlex Agenda sets forth the short-term and long-term regulatory...more
6/21/2021
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation D ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rule 144 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee recently shared some keynote remarks at the 2021 ESG Disclosure Priorities Event hosted by the American Institute of CPAs & the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants,...more
The outbreak of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020 inflicted an unprecedented shock on the global economy. In the first half of the year, growth stalled, the US unemployment rate reached its highest level since the Great...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in recent weeks multiple efforts to highlight climate change in corporate disclosures and to increase scrutiny and, potentially, enforcement focus on company disclosure...more
3/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 10-Q ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Yesterday, the SEC announced the formation of a Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement. This announcement follows Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee’s earlier statement directing the Division of Corporation...more
With 2021 now upon us, companies, auditors and audit committees are gearing up for another annual reporting season, coming off of one of the more turbulent years in recent history, which included a significant number of...more
1/12/2021
/ AICPA ,
Audit Committee ,
Auditor Independence ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Internal Controls ,
PCAOB ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC continued its recent run of rulemaking activity with two sets of amendments last week that impact reporting by public companies. On Tuesday, November 17, the SEC announced that it will begin to permit the use of...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted amendments to the shareholder proposal rule – Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The long-awaited changes largely track the SEC’s November 5, 2019...more
Earlier this week, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced updates to its research and standard-setting agendas. Similar to the SEC’s approach with its short-term rulemaking agenda, going forward, the PCAOB...more
The business world has changed a lot in the last three decades, and, as a result of recent amendments to Item 101 of Regulation S-K, the description of a company’s business included in registration statements and periodic...more
Last week, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board shared additional insights regarding its latest conversations with audit committee chairs – Conversations with Audit Committee Chairs: COVID-19 and the Audit (the...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance released CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 9A and SEC Chief Accountant, Sagar Teotia, issued a Statement on the Continued Importance of High-Quality...more