The SEC on Feb. 29, 2024, announced settled charges against Lordstown Motors Corp. (Lordstown) for allegedly misleading investors about sales prospects for the Endurance, Lordstown's flagship pickup truck for the electric...more
The SEC did not take time off for the summer when it comes to enforcement activity involving auditors of special purpose acquisition companies (known as SPACs and addressed by us previously). While others may have been...more
Who may be interested: Audit committees, Compliance professionals - Quick Take: The SEC recently settled charges against an accounting firm for alleged systemic quality control failures and violations of audit standards,...more
On Oct. 16, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules amending the auditor independence requirements of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X. The SEC noted that amendments to the auditor...more
Under rule 206(4)-2 of the Advisers Act, otherwise known as the Custody Rule, it is a fraudulent practice for a registered investment adviser to have custody of client funds or securities, unless the adviser takes certain...more
There have been significant recent developments in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulation of foreign private issuers, (FPIs) including changes that impact the annual report on Form 20-F for fiscal year 2019....more
The SEC announced settlements with an auditing firm (the “Firm”) and one of its partners relating to violations of certain auditor independence rules involving nineteen audit engagements with fifteen SEC-registrant issuers. ...more
On September 23, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) with improper professional conduct and violating auditor independence rules. The SEC also...more
In response to audit firm requests for guidance and a number of deficiencies identified during the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s audit firm inspections process, the PCAOB has recently released new Staff Guidance...more
In 2018, the SEC continued to pursue many of the same initiatives and objectives it articulated in 2017, including emphasizing retail investor protections and keeping pace with technological change. While stand-alone...more
Last month, the SEC adopted amendments intended to facilitate the disclosure of information to investors, simplify compliance without significantly altering the total mix of information provided to investors, improve...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced last Friday that it has adopted amendments to certain disclosure requirements that have become duplicative, overlapping, or outdated in light of other Commission...more
Under the current rules of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), foreign issuers are allowed to use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) financial statements in their registration statements and...more
In a letter dated September 22, 2017, the SEC staff agreed to extend previous relief that enables registered fund groups to fulfill regulatory requirements under Regulation S-X if the accounting firm auditing the funds’...more
I’ve been thinking about these auditor independence cases since the administrative orders were issued a few weeks ago. They’re very interesting to me for a couple of reasons, but let’s start with the rules...more
The SEC’s Division of Investment Management provided temporary relief from the headache created for funds when the failure to meet the provisions of the so-called “loan rule” may disqualify fund auditors from being...more
The SEC this week issued cease-and-desist orders against eight auditors, fining them $140,000 collectively, for violating auditor independence rules by preparing the very broker-dealer financials they were to audit....more
Confirming that auditor independence continues to be a regulatory priority, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) issued orders on December 8,...more
On December 18, 2013, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued rule proposals to amend Regulation A, implementing an important part of Title IV of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS...more