The SEC recently updated its auditor independence rule in light of current market conditions and industry practice. The amendments, which were adopted over the dissenting votes of two Commissioners, relax a number of the...more
On November 17 the SEC adopted rules that permit the use of electronic signatures for most SEC filings and the electronic storage of executed signature pages. As a result, filers will no longer be required to create or...more
11/24/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Signatures ,
EDGAR ,
Electronic Filing ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 10-Q ,
Form 8-K ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The SEC recently adopted amendments to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to tighten the requirements that govern the initial submission and resubmission of shareholder proposals for inclusion in a company’s...more
11/18/2020
/ Corporate Governance ,
New Guidance ,
Ownership Requirements ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Threshold Requirements
On August 26 the SEC adopted far-reaching amendments to Regulation S-K items that govern disclosures on business, legal proceedings, and risk factors in filings under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act...more
On August 26, the SEC amended its rules under the Securities Act of 1933 to expand the definition of “accredited investor” used for determining eligibility to invest in certain securities offerings exempt from Securities Act...more
The SEC recently adopted comprehensive amendments to its rules that govern financial statement requirements for acquisitions or dispositions of significant businesses or other assets. The rules specify the historical...more
Below is a checklist of key changes and considerations that public companies should be aware of when preparing their Forms 10-K and proxy statements for the upcoming filing season. For ease of reference, we have divided the...more
On October 16 the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14K (CF) (SLB 14K) to provide updated guidance on the application of the "ordinary business" exception to a company's obligation under...more
10/24/2019
/ Corporate Governance ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Requests ,
Ordinary Business Exception ,
Proof of Ownership ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance recently announced changes to its process for responding to no-action requests that seek exclusion from proxy materials of shareholder proposals submitted under Exchange Act Rule...more
10/7/2019
/ Corporate Governance ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Requests ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Proposals
On August 8, the SEC proposed amendments to Regulation S-K to modernize required disclosures on business, legal proceedings and risk factors in Exchange Act and Securities Act filings. The proposed amendments represent the...more
8/28/2019
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Judicial Proceedings ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Factors ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On March 27, the Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision addressing whether someone who is not the "maker" of a misstatement can nonetheless be primarily liable for fraud under the federal securities laws, when the...more
4/12/2019
/ Appeals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Fines ,
Intent to Defraud ,
Investment Banks ,
Lorenzo v SEC ,
Material Dissemination ,
Misleading Statements ,
Reaffirmation ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Suspensions
On March 20, the SEC voted to adopt amendments to Regulation S-K and related rules and forms in accordance with its mandate under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) to modernize and simplify disclosure...more
The SEC’s Division of Enforcement recently instituted cease-and-desist proceedings against a company for violating Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13a-11 by including non-GAAP financial measures in two of its...more
1/30/2019
/ Accounting Standards ,
EBITDA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Reporting ,
GAAP ,
Internal Controls ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On December 18, 2018, the SEC adopted a requirement for U.S. public companies to provide proxy disclosure of any practices or policies they have adopted regarding the ability of the company's employees, officers or directors,...more
On October 31, 2018, the SEC released comprehensive property disclosure rules for mining registrants that represent the first major change to the rules since 1982. The new rules require companies with material mining...more
1/24/2019
/ Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO) ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Mineral Exploration ,
Mineral Extraction ,
Mining ,
Natural Resources ,
Oil & Gas ,
Real Estate Market ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On October 31, 2018, the SEC released comprehensive property disclosure rules for mining registrants that represent the first major change to the rules since 1982. The new rules require companies with material mining...more
On October 23, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14J (CF) (SLB 14J) to provide new guidance on the application of the “ordinary business” and “economic relevance” exceptions to a public...more
The SEC recently amended Securities Act Rule 701, which provides a registration exemption for securities sold by non-reporting companies to their employees and other covered persons under compensatory arrangements. The...more
8/16/2018
/ Amended Rules ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Form S-8 ,
Gig Economy ,
Offerings ,
Restricted Stocks ,
Rule 701 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Options ,
Threshold Requirements
Prompted by concern over the increase in the risks and frequency of data breach incidents and other cyber-attacks affecting public companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission recently published interpretive guidance to...more
3/6/2018
/ Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Statements ,
Insider Trading ,
Interpretive Rule ,
Non-Public Information ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation FD ,
Regulation S-K ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The subject of director compensation awards has been moving up the corporate governance agenda of many public companies since December 2017.
...more
On December 4, the SEC approved a New York Stock Exchange rule change that prohibits the issuance of material news by listed companies in the period immediately after the official closing time for the NYSE’s trading session...more
The SEC recently proposed amendments intended to update, streamline and improve its disclosure framework and to reduce the compliance burden for public companies. The proposed amendments, which are detailed in the proposing...more
On September 21, the SEC and the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance issued new and updated interpretive guidance regarding the CEO pay ratio disclosure required by Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K. The guidance...more
10/2/2017
/ CEOs ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Item 402 ,
Median Employee ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statistical Sampling
On August 17, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued new guidance indicating that emerging growth companies (EGCs) and non-EGCs may omit from their nonpublic draft registration statements interim financial...more
On July 25, the SEC announced that it would grant $2.5 million “to an employee of a domestic government agency whose tip helped launch an SEC investigation and whose continued assistance enabled the SEC to address a company’s...more