Articles | Compliance Week – Page 297
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Article
CFPB Offers No-Action Letters With Strings Attached
Image: Title: LampeFinancial firms worried about an enforcement action from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may soon get a reprieve. The agency has proposed a no-action letter policy that would let financial firms test the regulatory waters before they roll out new financial products. The application process, however, requires much ...
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Article
Reducing Systems and Risks in Purchase-to-Pay
Most companies maintain several systems within their procurement and accounts payable functions, especially if they have grown through acquisition. But several systems can create risks, including low supplier visibility. Fewer systems can help, but it’s not a cure-all. Many companies find they need to take steps to reduce the risks ...
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ArticleHow to Tell if Your Whistleblower Hotline Is Effective
As companies strive to keep investigations internal, rather than risk high-profile regulatory intervention, improving the hotlines they use to solicit employee tips and concerns is crucial. Using metrics and industry benchmarks can help, but measuring the effectiveness of internal whistleblower efforts may be the hardest part. Some tips and trends ...
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ArticleSEC Enforcement Trends: Targeting Gatekeepers and Rewarding Tipsters
The Securities and Exchange Commission brought a record-breaking number of enforcement actions in fiscal year 2014, including several against compliance and audit executives. That should come as no surprise: Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney (pictured above) warned last spring that the SEC wouldn’t hesitate to pursue executives, including compliance professionals, when ...
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Article
All Eyes on Internal Controls as Year-End Close Approaches
Image: Title: DurbinAs companies begin preparing for the year-end close, audit experts are warning them to take these final months of the year to check documentation. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is pressuring audit firms to scrutinize internal controls and other areas, and that scrutiny is likely to trickle ...
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Article
As Tech Firms Enter the Payments Space, Regulators Are Watching
Last month Apple plunged into the world of payment processing with its Apple Pay service that allows its mobile devices to make payments at retailers. Rivals Google, Microsoft, and Facebook have already dabbled in the market that includes Pay Pal and several others. These disruptive technologies may prompt regulators to ...
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Article
Year-End Preparation; SEC Enforcement in 2014; More
Title: Year-End Preparation; SEC EnfoComing in the Oct. 28 edition of Compliance Week: Hear from audit experts on what steps to take in planning for year-end close; also next week, a look back at the record number of enforcement actions brought by the SEC in 2014.
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Article
Preparing for 2015 Employment Tax Compliance
As companies begin planning for tax compliance in the coming year, they are finding 2015 to be a mixed bag. The good news is that payroll and other tax law changes are minimal; the bad news is that some companies may see hikes in their tax rates. “Thankfully, ...
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ArticleMany Countries, One Compliance Approach
The Compliance Week Europe conference, an annual event held last week in Brussels, drew attendees from 22 countries, many of whom represented companies that do business in an even greater number of nations. Building and maintaining an effective compliance program that is consistent across multinational borders is not an easy ...
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Article
Here We Go Again: Regulators Looking Anew at Audit Firm Consulting
Image: Title: TurnerRegulators are taking a fresh look at whether the quality of public company audits is threatened when audit firms also focus on selling consulting services. Revenue from audit services has remained flat, while revenue from consulting services is rising again. “They’re driven by the fact that management is ...
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ArticleSEC Searching for Rules Violations in Piles of Data.
One of the more significant trends in enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission recently may not be immediately obvious.Last month, an enforcement sweep resulted in charges and fines against 28 officers, directors, and other shareholders for failing to promptly report required information about their holdings and transactions in ...
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