Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rule amendments that would enhance issuer disclosures regarding their share repurchase transactions.
The proposed rule changes consist of two components,...more
On December 15, 2021, the SEC proposed significant changes to the requirements for Rule 10b5-1 trading plans.
The SEC attributed the proposals to concerns expressed by courts, commentators and members of Congress that...more
Spring-loading - awarding equity awards before announcing material good news - was in the headlines 15 years ago but still surfaces on occasion, notably when in July 2020 Kodak made large grants to executives the day before a...more
Considerations for companies planning for next proxy season should include the following:
Risk Factors -
..As discussed in our July 13 post, consider current hot topics, including COVID risks, labor market...more
11/3/2021
/ Comment Period ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Form 10-K ,
Incentive Compensation ,
MD&A Statements ,
NYSE ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Risk Factors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Shareholders
As discussed in our March 4, 2021 and March 17, 2021 posts, Allison Herren Lee, then the Acting Chair of the SEC, previously issued a Public Statement and delivered a speech announcing the SEC’s enhanced focus on...more
The SEC today approved Nasdaq’s board diversity proposal, which will require each Nasdaq-listed company to publicly disclose information on the voluntary self-identified gender and racial characteristics and LGBTQ+ status of...more
As companies prepare upcoming periodic reports, they should focus on carefully reviewing and updating their risk factors. Some of the considerations may include...more
7/13/2021
/ Adverse Events ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 10-Q ,
MD&A Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment
In a speech on March 15, 2021, Allison Herren Lee, Acting Chair of the SEC, reported on the steps the SEC is taking to meet investors’ growing demand for climate and ESG information, stating that “no single issue has been...more
3/17/2021
/ Business Strategies ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Sustainability
Yesterday, John Coates, the acting director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, announced a proposed framework for considering new ESG disclosure requirements, recognizing that while the scope of ESG issues is very...more
On Friday, Nasdaq submitted a revised proposal that addresses board diversity membership for listed companies. As discussed in our prior alert, Nasdaq had originally called for public companies - over a two-to-four year...more
3/2/2021
/ Amended Rules ,
Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Ethnicity ,
Gender Identity ,
Nasdaq ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Orientation
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued guidance on securities offering disclosure during times of extreme price volatility, which it viewed as characterized by...more
On November 24, 2020, the SEC approved proposed amendments to rules governing the offer or sale of securities to employees through compensation programs. The proposed amendments to Rule 701 and Form S-8 are designed to...more
12/2/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Financial Statements ,
Form S-8 ,
Gig Economy ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulation S-K ,
Rule 701 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In yet another 3-2 vote, the SEC adopted significant amendments to MD&A and related financial disclosures in order to streamline the disclosure system and move to a more “principles-based approach,” focused on material...more
In another 3-2 vote, on November 2, 2020 the SEC approved significant amendments to the framework for exempt offerings intended to harmonize and simplify the framework for exempt offerings under the Securities Act of 1933. ...more
11/5/2020
/ Corporate Governance ,
Crowdfunding ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
General Solicitation ,
Offerings ,
Regulation A ,
Regulation D ,
Rule 152 ,
Rule 506 Offerings ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shelf Registration
As public companies prepare their Q3 releases and filings, some of the key issues they should consider include:
..MD&A – as we reported last quarter, the SEC Staff issued COVID-19 guidance in June calling for companies to...more
Includes recommendations for action by SEC and other financial regulators -
Last week, a subcommittee of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a sweeping report addressing climate change risks, concluding that...more
On August 26, 2020, by a 3-2 party-line vote, the SEC adopted amendments to Regulation S-K that aim to modernize the descriptions of business and legal proceedings, and risk factor disclosure requirements. The amendments...more
Based on Q2 reporting to date, few companies opted to present non-GAAP financial measures using the new metric term “EBITDAC” (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization – and COVID-19). That is not surprising,...more
On June 30, 2020, Jay Clayton, SEC chair, and Bill Hinman, Director of Corporation Finance, hosted an investor roundtable seeking input from investors on how to improve disclosures during this period of COVID-19. The...more
On June 23, 2019, both the Division of Corporation Finance and the Office of the Chief Accountant issued additional statements to public companies and their stakeholders about the importance of “high-quality” financial...more
As more companies prepare to file Form 10-Qs, they should give special attention to risk factors – particularly to consider whether new risks have emerged or hypothetical ones have become real. The Form calls for disclosure...more
Our world is changing on a daily – if not hourly – basis, as we deal with unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This Q&A provides public companies with U.S. securities laws and corporate governance...more
The SEC published the final rules on March 20, 2019 to amend a wide variety of disclosure rules, primarily under Regulation S-K, in an effort to modernize and simplify disclosure requirements for public companies, investment...more
SEC Penalizes Company for Non-Compliance with Equal or Greater Prominence Requirement in Earnings Releases -
In late December, the SEC settled its first “equal or greater prominence” enforcement action under its non-GAAP...more
3/11/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Board of Directors ,
CD&A ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EBITDA ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equity Compensation ,
GAAP ,
Gender Equity ,
Hedging ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
PCAOB ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
This newsletter discusses noteworthy updates, key regulatory decisions and upcoming compliance reminders.
In this edition we review... ...more
8/28/2018
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Buybacks ,
Smaller Reporting Companies