All SEC articles – Page 79
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Blog
Trump’s non-GAAP was first to face SEC enforcement
Long before Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign, the entertainment giant he founded, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, faced the wrath of the SEC, whose leadership he would shape if elected. Tammy Whitehouse looks back on Trump’s SEC enforcement action.
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Blog
Big 4 firm offers tips on assessing use of non-GAAP measures
An upswing in corporate use of non-GAAP measures along with increased regulatory scrutiny of such reporting has inspired the folks at Deloitte to offer some tips on how to assess non-GAAP measures to assure they don’t run afoul of filing rules.
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Blog
75% of S&P 100 report non-GAAP earnings, study shows
A recent Georgia Tech Financial Analysis study found that 75 S&P 100 companies reported non-GAAP earnings in 2013, with 48 companies making adjustments as a result of gains or losses due to non-recurring events. Income taxes gave rise to 30 adjustments, and 27 adjustments arose from restructuring and productivity-related charges.
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Article
Longer case closure times boost risk of whistleblowers reporting externally
Employers are taking longer and longer to act on internal whistleblower reports, which can frustrate employees who have been encouraged to step up and report what they see as unacceptable behavior. As reporters find their concerns languishing in limbo, the chances they might simply take their issue to an outside ...
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Blog
FCPA enforcement ramps up in Q1 2016
If it looks like FCPA enforcement is at a low ebb, judging by the amount of activity we saw in 2015, don’t be fooled. The SEC is prosecuting FCPA cases with vigor, and if some of the current enforcement actions underway are any indicator, we will not see a significant ...
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Blog
SEC staff call out custom axis tag use in XBRL filings
The SEC is advising companies to take a careful look at their use of axis tags in their XBRL filings. The SEC has been studying corporate filings from 2013 to 2015 in the “XBRL format looking for problems that lead to data quality concerns, with axis tags being one such ...
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ArticleSEC fines energy company $300K over rubber stamp internal controls
Image: A recent SEC action against a company for maintaining insufficient internal controls signals a new effort from federal authorities to hold companies to higher standards when it comes to internal control material weaknesses and significant deficiencies. “This is a case that doesn’t have a punchline,” says Tom Sporkin, a ...
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Blog
Novartis to pay $25 million in FCPA case
Switzerland pharmaceutical giant Novartis yesterday reached a $25 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for violating the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act concerning its operations in China.
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Blog
Former Goldman compliance employee settles SEC insider trading case
A former Goldman Sachs compliance employee settled his case with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve insider trading charges filed against him last year. Judge Valerie Caproni of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last week entered a final judgment against defendant Yue Han, ...
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Blog
VimpelCom and the conscious indifference of a board under the FCPA
Image: The joint Justice Dept., SEC settlement with telecom giant VimpelCom resolving a longstanding FCPA violation will cost the company more than $795 million, say reports. But there’s a bright side, says CW Columnist Tom Fox. The multiple bribery schemes seem to have been supported by top management and will ...
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Blog
SEC approves PCAOB budget; Doty promises new proposals soon
Image: With majority support from the SEC—all two of them, that is—the PCAOB has finalized its 2016 budget with a 12-percent increase in fees charged to public companies to support it. Only SEC Chair Mary Jo White and Commissioner Kara Stein supported the PCAOB’s $257.7 million budget for the current ...
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Blog
SEC Charges Magnum Hunter with faulty evaluations of internal controls
Oil and gas producer Magnum Hunter Resources and several individuals settled charges this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission for deficient evaluation of the company’s internal controls over financial reporting, and failures to maintain internal control over financial reporting.
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Blog
Are anti-bribery experts focusing on the wrong numbers?
To be sure, enforcement data is an important tool for companies to understand their anti-bribery regulatory risks. But relying solely on U.S. enforcement statistics reveals only part of the increasingly complex and multi-layered regulatory landscape that multinationals are facing today. Inside, a look at what can be accomplished when the ...
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BlogHow Qualcomm’s FCPA blunder involved rank incompetency
Hiring the son or daughter of a government official to secure a lucrative business contract is clearly out of bounds. But hiring somebody who was specifically rejected from an interview process as being unfit for the job in question, a scenario recently played out at Qualcomm and its China-based operations ...
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Blog
Nortek FCPA investigation costs reach $2.3 million
Nortek, a maker of home security and thermostat systems, said this week in a securities filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has incurred $2.3 million in legal and other professional services costs relating to potential improper payments made by its Chinese manufacturing unit.
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Blog
Qualcomm to pay SEC $7.5 million for hiring practices
Digital telecommunications maker Qualcomm this week reached a $7.5 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by hiring relatives of Chinese government officials. These officials were in positions to decide whether to select Qualcomm’s mobile technology products amid ...
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BlogSEC advises caution on revenue recognition policies
While international regulators have finished up with revenue recognition, the SEC continues to advise companies to scrutinize U.S. regulators’ impending work on the standard. FASB has scheduled three meetings for the Transition Resource Group, which will be airing and discussing any implementation questions it has received. According to Deputy Chief ...
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Blog
Another bank under FCPA scrutiny for its hiring practices
Financial services providers face unique corruption risks when seeking to win business in international markets. This includes a traditional form of back-scratching: the hiring of children or other close family members of prominent foreign officials. Only now the SEC has made it clear that such practices can and will invite ...
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Blog
SEC seeks comment on rule requiring naming engagement partners
The SEC is gathering comment on recent PCAOB rules that require audit firms to complete a new filing providing the name of engagement partners on public company audit engagements. PCAOB rules are subject to SEC approval before they can become final, which is why the Commission wants to hear remarks ...
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Blog
SEC probing hiring practices of HSBC and many other banks
London-based HSBC said in an earnings release last week that it is one of several banks being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its hiring practices in Asia. Hiring a family member or friend of a government official violates the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act if the intent ...