In anticipation of the upcoming reporting season, this Update highlights some of the most significant rule changes, guidance, institutional investor areas of focus, and trends for public companies to consider in preparing...more
12/15/2023
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Board of Directors ,
Clawbacks ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Repurchases
On October 26, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules implementing Section 954 of the Dodd‑Frank Act. The final rules were published in the Federal Register on November 28, 2022...more
12/6/2022
/ Clawbacks ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 10D ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
During 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rule changes and provided public companies with useful guidance on various topics. In December, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) released its...more
1/10/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Directors ,
Disclosure ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Human Capital ,
IFRS ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Investors ,
Nasdaq ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Universal Proxy
In anticipation of the upcoming reporting season, we highlight rule changes, guidance, and trends for public companies to consider in preparing annual report and proxy statement disclosures in 2021.
During 2020, the U.S....more
12/8/2020
/ Annual Meeting ,
Annual Reports ,
Board of Directors ,
CD&A ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
E-Signatures ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Form 10-K ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Item 103 ,
Item 105 ,
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Questionnaires ,
Regulation S-K ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Securities and Exchange Commission on September 23, 2020, adopted final amendments to Rule 14a-8, which governs the process for shareholder proposals submitted for inclusion in a company’s proxy statement. The amendments...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 22, 2020, adopted final amendments to its proxy solicitation rules to codify the SEC’s longstanding view that proxy voting advice generally constitutes a solicitation within...more
8/12/2020
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Requirements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proposed Rules ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued several important recent updates regarding shareholder proposals and the related no-action request process for companies to consider ahead of the 2019-2020 proxy...more
11/8/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Letters ,
No-Action Relief ,
No-Action Requests ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Rule 14a-8(i)(7) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
The following update highlights recent corporate governance hot topics and trends for directors of public companies.
Board Oversight of Mission-Critical Risks -
In June 2019, the Delaware Supreme Court allowed a Caremark...more
8/25/2019
/ Board of Directors ,
Caremark claim ,
Corporate Governance ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Internal Controls ,
Oversight Duties ,
Popular ,
Regulation S-K ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Litigation
During 2018, the SEC issued rule updates and guidance that are intended to ease certain public reporting requirements and clarify the SEC’s position with respect to the shareholder proposal process. While the SEC is taking...more
12/13/2018
/ Board of Directors ,
CD&A ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Compensation ,
No-Action Letters ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Tax Reform
The recent tax reform bill, commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the Act), was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The Act includes a new income tax deferral regime for certain employee stock options...more
In anticipation of the upcoming annual report and proxy season, we are highlighting new requirements and trends for public companies in 2018....more
12/13/2017
/ Audit Reports ,
Board of Directors ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Form 10-K ,
Institutional Investors ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8(i)(7) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued new guidance to help companies prepare their pay ratio disclosures that provides some relief for companies—and further validates that these rules are highly unlikely to...more
10/4/2017
/ C&DIs ,
CEOs ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Independent Contractors ,
Median Employee ,
New Guidance ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statistical Sampling
Reevaluate Non-GAAP Disclosures in Light of Updated C&DIs and Other SEC Actions. As the reporting season gets underway, reviewing non-GAAP disclosure practices should remain a top priority in light of the new and updated...more
12/1/2016
/ Annual Meeting ,
C&DIs ,
CalPERS ,
Corporate Officers ,
Directors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Form 10-K ,
Glass Lewis ,
Golden Leash Arrangements ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Iran ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Pay Ratio ,
PCAOB ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Regulation G ,
Regulation S-K ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Universal Proxy Cards
The SEC, by a two-to-one vote on October 26, 2016, proposed amendments to its proxy rules to require universal proxy cards in contested director elections at annual meetings of listed U.S. public companies. If adopted, the...more
Proxy access predominated corporate governance issues for the 2015 proxy season, with over 100 proposals submitted on the topic, compared to 18 in 2014. Shareholder proponents achieved significant success in 2015, with an...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently proposed another long-awaited set of rules to implement the clawback policy required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). ...more
8/3/2015
/ Clawbacks ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Federal Register ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Form 10-K ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Regulation S-K ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Appreciation Rights ,
Stock Exchange ,
Stocks
In December 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rules to implement Title V and Title VI of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), which permit early stage companies to defer registration...more
Recently, the SEC, by a vote of 3 to 2, proposed long-delayed and controversial rules to implement the “CEO pay ratio” disclosure mandated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The proposed...more
Public companies preparing for the upcoming 2013 proxy season will need to keep in mind a number of new developments related to executive compensation, including:
- New Securities and Exchange Commission rules that...more