All SEC articles – Page 78
-
Blog
SEC Charges Grant Thornton Affiliates for Auditor Independence
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged two Grant Thornton affiliates in India and Australia with violating auditor independence rules based on their activities in the tiny island nation of Mauritius off the east coast of Africa.
-
Article
SEC Accounting Enforcement: Bigger and Badder
Image: Perhaps some public companies haven’t yet taken to heart the (numerous) signals from regulators to button up their internal controls. A recent legal analysis of accounting-related enforcement actions from the SEC should do the trick. Sanctions are happening more frequently, and penalties are bigger. “The SEC is effectively ...
-
Blog
Hitachi Settles FCPA Charges With SEC for $19 Million
Tokyo-based Hitachi reached a $19 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by inaccurately recording improper payments to South Africa’s ruling political party in connection with contracts to build two multi-billion dollar power plants. More inside.
-
Article
Appellate Court Ruling Leaves Compliance Officers Whistling in the Dark
Image: The recent appellate court ruling to expand Dodd-Frank whistleblower protections again, even to those who don’t report misconduct to the SEC, does no favors for companies trying to find the right policies for anti-retaliation. Ken Gage, head of the whistleblower defense practice at law firm Paul Hastings, says the ...
-
Blog
A Focus on Transparency—of Auditing
Expect lots of talk about transparency into auditing this fall. The SEC and PCAOB both have proposals to expand the disclosure to investors of how audits work, and what roles audit firms and audit committees play. Substantive changes are almost certainly coming, columnist Scott Taub says, so it’s time to ...
-
Blog
SEC Frets Over Split in Revenue Recognition Adoption Efforts
Image: Looking for consistency in application of the new revenue recognition standard, SEC Deputy Chief Accountant Wesley Bricker said companies need to do their homework and apply appropriate professional judgment. Bricker called on companies to move forward with implementation efforts “without delay” by understanding the key principles of the new ...
-
Blog
Analogic Proposes $1.6 Million FCPA Settlement
Analogic, an airport security and medical-imaging technology provider, said in a quarterly filing this week that it has proposed a $1.6 million settlement to the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case.The potential sanctions concern certain questionable transactions involving Analogic’s Danish subsidiary BK Medical and ...
-
Blog
SEC Calls for Attention to Credit Impairment Rules
Image: With a new standard expected before the end of the year to change the way financial institutions account for credit impairments, the SEC will be looking for strong processes and controls around critical judgments. Recently, SEC Chief Accountant James Schnurr told accountants at a conference to get ready to ...
-
Blog
Doty Supporters Tell SEC: Let PCAOB Chair Stay Seated
Image: In response to SEC Chair Mary Jo White’s recent remarks that the SEC might replace Jim Doty as chairman of the PCAOB, nearly 30 individuals with heavy credentials in financial reporting from numerous policymaking groups fired off a letter to White, stumping for Doty’s reappointment. They credit Doty with ...
-
Blog
PCAOB Defends Regulatory Approach Amid Persistent Problems
PCAOB Chairman Jim Doty said recently he will meet with the U.S. Chamber of Congress if participants will discuss their own direct experiences with complaints outlined in the Chamber’s 19-page letter calling for a new inspections approach. “Hearsay is not helpful. We want to know where preparers really have been ...
-
Article
As Startups Grow, Many Start Needing Compliance Sooner
Once upon a time, start-up companies—whether toiling away in a garage somewhere or moving their way up in the world—rarely even considered a compliance program; that was something they would only need in the future. Now many find that the future comes mighty fast these days. Inside, a closer look ...
-
Blog
Doty Projects Year-End Completion of Engagement Partner ID
Image: More than a decade after regulators began mulling how to give some transparency to investors around who actually performs public company audits, PCAOB Chairman James Doty said he is hopeful that the board is on track to “get this done by the end of the year.” Doty recently said ...
-
Blog
Blood Is Not Thicker Than FCPA Risk
The SEC has now taken its first enforcement action in a “princeling” case, fining BNY Mellon for offering plum internships to the relatives of foreign officials to win business with their countries’ sovereign wealth funds. Inside, columnist Tom Fox looks at the case (which is probably the first of several) ...
-
Blog
FASB Explains Changes to 2016 GAAP Taxonomy
FASB has issued notes explaining the changes to the proposed 2016 XBRL taxonomy, including simplifying the income statement and the presentation of debt issuance costs, among other changes. “While some of these changes may impact a significant number of filers, the feedback received from constituents was to eliminate inconsistencies and ...
-
Article
How Bad Is SEC Politicking? Pretty Bad
Image: That the SEC endures its share of politics is not exactly news—but the amount of politics, and the sheer partisan in-fighting at the agency? That’s rising. Split votes are more common, published dissents from commissioners more frequent. “Sometimes when I see what’s going on now, I’m sorry I ever ...
-
Blog
Audit Fee Data Reveals New Departure from Non-Audit Services
According to a recent Audit Analytics study of fees paid in 2014 by 2,300 accelerated filers, 80.3 percent were focused on the integrated financial statement internal control audit; fees for non-audit services dipped to 19.7 percent of the total bill from the audit firm, a drop from 20 percent during ...
-
Blog
Study Shows Better Audit Reports Lead to Better Audits
Expanded audit reports and audit committee reports have led to better audits in the United Kingdom, according to new research, perhaps because expanded reporting has given auditors more leverage over financial statement assertions. The authors of the study said the new U.K. reporting requirements led to better-quality audits, as measured ...
-
Article
More Questions, and Evidence, on Undisclosed Control Weaknesses
Image: Fresh data from the PCAOB is raising awkward questions about whether companies and audit firms really are disclosing all the weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires. PCAOB board member Jeanette Franzel presented the data in a recent speech that should prompt some soul-searching ...
-
Article
Undermined! Court Ruling Chisels Away at Conflict Minerals Rule
Corporate America has won a bit of a reprieve (emphasis on “a bit”) in conflict minerals compliance, thanks to the Aug. 18 court decision barring the SEC from requiring companies to disclose whether they are conflict mineral-free. But the duty to analyze your supply chain remains and, thankfully, this year’s ...
-
Blog
SEC Action Suggests Focus on Valuations, Experts Say
A new study from valuation firm NERA Consulting suggests that the SEC is renewing its interest in pursuing valuation-related accounting issues. The findings are based on an enforcement action against Miller Energy Resources and certain officers for inflating oil property values. “Reporting entities are well advised to make full disclosures ...