Compliance into the Weeds - SOX Compliance, PCAOB Inspections and Audits
Compliance into the Weeds-Episode 57-SOX Reform or Not?
Compliance into the Weeds-Episode 51, the PCAOB and Compliance
Compliance into the Weeds-Espiode 47
Everything Compliance-Episode 12
Day 5 of One Month to Better Investigations and Reporting-the Board’s Investigation Protocol
Compliance into the Weeds-Episode 30-SOX 404(b)
FCPA Compliance and Ethics Report-Episode 145-SEC Enforcement of the FCPA, Part II
On February 8, 2024, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, No. 22-660 (U.S. 2024) restoring a $900K jury verdict in favor of a whistleblower under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)...more
In New England Carpenters Guaranteed Annuity and Pension Funds v. DeCarlo (Aug. 2023), the Second Circuit held, among other things, that CEO/CFO certifications mandated by SOX Section 302 constitute non-actionable statements...more
On October 26, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted regulations (the “final rules”) implementing Section 10D of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), which was added by the...more
The government's focus on clawbacks is at a fever pitch. At the Practicing Law Institute's SEC Speaks conference earlier this month, senior officials within the SEC's Division of Enforcement emphasized the agency's increasing...more
We are surrounded by bias in a variety of contexts – news, politics, books and Internet information. Given the overwhelming amount of information, some find comfort in information supplied by sources with a bias. We have...more
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
Last week, the Center for Audit Quality released two new resources—an updated Guide to Internal Control over Financial Reporting (ICFR Guide) and a new Tool for Audit Committees: Preparing for the New Credit Losses Standard...more
Current SEC reporting requirements establish three different filer statuses that categorizes issuers subject to Exchange Act reporting requirements as non-accelerated, accelerated, and large accelerated filers....more
Chief financial officers are powerful players in the corporate governance landscape. CFOs play a critical role in the management and oversight of the company’s internal accounting controls. Sarbanes-Oxley lifted the...more
On April 27, 2018, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Nasdaq, along with certain technology and biotechnology groups, released a policy paper titled “Expanding...more
Sometimes I revisit my compliance roots in the world of Sarbanes-Oxley – a place much more concerned with financial reporting than corporate ethics and culture, I know. Yet lessons from one group that can help the other still...more
It’s not just Dodd-Frank that has been roundly disparaged in some quarters, SOX 404(b)—the requirement to have an auditor attestation and report on management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting—has also...more
Sarbanes-Oxley revolutionized the auditing profession. Section 404 imposed stringent requirements for disclosure of the state of a company’s internal controls and financial reporting. The company’s independent auditor is...more
Over several blog posts, I have explored in detail the new Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which set forth a new Revenue...more
Show Notes for Episode 12, the Summer Haze Edition The dog days of summer are on the horizon and the Houston Astros lead the major leagues in winning percentage. Coincidence that the US pulls out of the Paris Climate Accords...more
Earlier this month, on March 2, 2016, the House Financial Services Committee reported favorably on two bills that propose changes to the federal securities laws: the Main Street Growth Act (H.R. 4638) and the Fostering...more
Andrew Ceresney, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, gave the keynote address at last week’s Directors Forum 2016 in San Diego. In his speech, Mr. Ceresney made several points worth highlighting. First of all,...more
Financial fraud was a staple of SEC enforcement for years. Complex financial fraud cases in which the “books were cooked” to make earnings guidance, increase bonuses or for other reasons were the daily grist of SEC...more
No, it’s not from The Onion. According to a study reported in CFO.com, unless the restating company faces regulatory action or shareholder litigation, the company’s competitors may use its financial restatement as a how-to...more
The SEC’s interpretation of the Dodd-Frank whistleblower provisions prevailed in a recent Second Circuit decision, creating a circuit split that could be heading for the Supreme Court. Specifically, the Circuit Court deferred...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit created a federal appellate split today when it revived a Dodd-Frank Act retaliation claim by an ex-finance director, who was responsible for the company’s financial reporting...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rules on July 1, 2015, related to the design and implementation of clawback policies of listed issuers for the recovery of compensation erroneously awarded to the issuer’s...more
At an open meeting held on July 1, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a concept release seeking input on whether it should adopt rules requiring additional disclosures for audit committees, with a focus...more
In this episode which is Part II of my look at SEC enforcement of the FCPA, I consider whether profit disgorgement is available to the SEC in a strict liability enforcement action of violation of internal controls. ...more
Ten years ago, Sarbanes-Oxley was the focus of compliance and corporate governance reform. Sarbanes-Oxley was enacted in response to major corporate scandals involving financial reporting fraud and accounting...more