In light of health and safety concerns related to the pandemic, the SEC staff recently announced the availability of a temporary secure file transfer process for the submission of supplemental materials pursuant to Rule 418...more
On August 26, 2020, pursuant to delegated authority by the Commission, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets approved changes to NYSE listing rules to allow companies to raise capital in connection with a direct listing...more
The SEC adopted amendments on August 26, 2020 by a 3-2 vote, to expand the definition of “accredited investor,” paving the way for certain financially sophisticated institutional and individual investors to participate in...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
On July 22, 2020, the SEC took action to address two aspects of the proxy voting process: (1) amending the proxy solicitation rules with respect to “proxy voting advice businesses” (PVABs or proxy advisory firms), such as ISS...more
On Friday, July 10, the SEC proposed amendments to Form 13F to substantially increase the reporting threshold to $3.5 billion from the current level of $100 million and make certain other changes. This would be the first...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
In light of health, transportation and logistical issues raised by COVID-19, the SEC staff recently extended previously announced relief for several types of submissions.
..Form 144 paper filings and certain forms (other...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
The SEC Staff published FAQs addressing several questions relating to the SEC’s March 25th Order extending filing relief for public companies unable to meet a filing deadline because of circumstances related to COVID-19....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
This newsletter discusses noteworthy updates, key regulatory decisions and upcoming compliance reminders.
In this edition, we review:
...SEC Changes Approach to Shareholder Proposal No-Action Requests
...SEC Issues...more
10/24/2019
/ Breach of Contract ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Governance ,
Default ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Violations ,
Federal Loans ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Interpretive Letters ,
Investment Adviser ,
Libor ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
MD&A Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Requests ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation FD ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
This newsletter discusses noteworthy updates, key regulatory decisions and upcoming compliance reminders. ...more
7/3/2019
/ Accelerated Filers ,
Audits ,
Comment Period ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Contempt ,
Corporate Governance ,
Elon Musk ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Reporting ,
Insider Trading ,
Internal Controls ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Social Networks ,
State Constitutions ,
Tesla ,
Unclaimed Property
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
On August 17, 2018, the SEC adopted amendments to eliminate or modify certain disclosure requirements that have become redundant, overlapping, outdated or superseded in light of other SEC rules, GAAP or changes in the...more
Planning for the 2018 Proxy Season -
There are number of important considerations that public companies should be aware of as they begin preparing for the 2018 proxy season, including potential changes in law, pay ratio...more
11/22/2017
/ Annual Reports ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial CHOICE Act ,
Financial Statements ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Foreign Earned Income ,
Insider Trading ,
Internal Reporting ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Access ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
US v Salman ,
Whistleblower Awards
On November 1, 2017, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14I (SLB 14I), providing guidance on the excludability of shareholder proposals under Exchange Act Rules 14a-8(i)(7)...more
The SEC issued a proposing release on October 11, 2017 to amend a wide variety of disclosure rules, primarily under Regulation S-K, in an effort to modernize and in some cases simplify disclosure requirements for public...more
Late Friday, April 7, the SEC issued two statements relating to the conflict minerals rule which reflect a significant change in the staff’s guidance for public companies.
The upshot of these statements is that the staff...more
On March 1, 2017, the SEC adopted final rules requiring companies to begin including hyperlinks to each document listed in exhibit indices to registration statements and reports filed with the Commission. The new requirement...more