All SEC articles – Page 82
-
Article
Conflict Minerals: From Compliance to Risk Management
Image: As a June 1 deadline nears for companies’ second year of conflict minerals compliance, some might consider life beyond the next Form SD filing to a broader risk management program for suppliers. It can be done, particularly with the OECD’s framework for conflict minerals due diligence. “The entire rule ...
-
Blog
FBI Agent David Makol Rejoins SEC as Forensic Accountant
Back in 2012, I recommended a "must-read" article by WSJ reporters Susan Pulliam, Michael Rothfeld and Jenny Strasburg about FBI agent David Makol. The article provided some fascinating insight into the tactics that Makol, then the FBI's go-to guy for "flipping" suspects in insider trading investigations, used so successfully in ...
-
Article
Still Working on Culture After All These Years
Five years ago, the Dodd-Frank Act imposed new rules governing everything from derivatives trades and mortgage lending to disclosures about executive compensation and conflict mineral usage. Have all those requirements really helped companies master a stronger ethical culture? Inside, we look at what steps some companies have taken to promote ...
-
Blog
White Defends Subpoenaing ISPs for E-Mails
Image: The SEC has long opposed efforts to modernize the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, fearing it could lose the ability to subpoena internet service providers for e-mails. Although ISP subpoenas are currently on hold, privacy concerns could harm investigations, Chairman Mary Jo White told a Congressional sub-committee.
-
Blog
Volcker Offers Sweeping New Reform Ideas
Image: Paul Volcker, the famed former Fed chairman and namesake of the most controversial rule in the Dodd-Frank Act, is proposing a slate of financial reform proposals that would merge the SEC and CFTC and create new regulatory agencies. The Volcker Alliance—a non-partisan, non-profit organization launched in 2013—issued a report ...
-
Blog
Lockheed Wants Out of 40-Year-Old Disclosure Demand
Lockheed Martin wants a federal judge to end a 40-year-old SEC requirement of advance notice for changes to its anti-bribery policies. Lockheed argues that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, FCPA requirements, and a move to online shareholder information make the requirement obsolete and unnecessary. More inside.
-
Blog
Warren on the Warpath: Slams SEC, Pitches Financial Reforms
Image: Slamming the SEC and Justice Department for a “slap on the wrist” approach to enforcement, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in a recent speech, also championed a slate of financial reforms, including a transaction tax to restrain high-frequency trading, restoring the former Glass-Steagall Act, and reducing the size and risk of ...
-
Article
A Bit More Transparency on Risks of Confidentiality Clauses
Image: The SEC is not the only government agency cracking down on “pre-taliation risk” in confidentiality agreements with employees; many others are turning their attention to the issue, too. “This is really a new focus for these agencies,” says Christopher Calsyn of the law firm Crowell Moring. Compliance officers may ...
-
Blog
Study Shows No Better Reporting After Auditors Cut Tax Services
U.S. auditor independence rules targeted at tax work have done nothing to improve financial reporting quality, according to new academic research out of Singapore. The study found a big shift in non-audit services provided by audit firms, leading to a significant drop in auditor-provided tax services, especially among firms that ...
-
Blog
SEC May Create One-Stop Database for Investors
The SEC may consider the creation of a new public database that compiles the scattered array of information on financial professionals and securities laws violations. A proposal from its Investor Advisory Committee would link to existing databases run by regulators and self-regulatory organizations. More inside.
-
Blog
FLIR Systems Settles FCPA Charges for $9.5 Million
Thermal imaging manufacturer FLIR Systems has reached a $9.5 million settlement with the SEC to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by financing what an employee termed a “world tour” of personal travel for government officials in the Middle East who played key roles in decisions ...
-
Article
Monitoring Your Anti-Retaliation Program
Complaints of whistleblower retaliation are a persistent problem in Corporate America, and all the more irritating for companies that may believe they have solid anti-retaliation programs in place. Inside, we walk through the harder part of anti-retaliation efforts: not just creating the policy, but working with HR and line managers ...
-
Blog
SEC Issues Wells Notice to Magnum Hunter
Magnum Hunter Resources has received a Wells Notice for potential material weaknesses in the company’s internal control over financial reporting. The oil and gas producer said it intends to respond in the form of a Wells submission, setting forth why it believes an enforcement action against it is not warranted. ...
-
Blog
Pension Funds Ask SEC for Board Diversity Rule
A coalition of state treasurers and pension funds has petitioned the SEC for new disclosure requirements on board diversity. They want a new rule that adds gender, racial, and ethnic diversity data to current disclosures dictated by Regulation S-K, which only requires companies to identify the minimum skills, experiences, and ...
-
Article
Conflict Minerals, Year 2: The Auditing Challenge
Few companies so far have addressed the audit requirement in the SEC’s Conflict Minerals Rule, although that will likely change as the June deadline for your second year’s filings approaches.
-
Blog
SEC Punts Extraction Payments Rule to 2016
Image: The SEC says it will not issue a proposal requiring oil gas, and mining companies to disclose payments made to governments until spring of 2016. “We’re surprised and disappointed that the SEC would push back its timeline yet again,” said Ian Gary, senior policy manager, extractive industries for Oxfam ...
-
Blog
SEC May Bring High-Frequency Traders Under FINRA Oversight
Image: Broker-dealers who trade off-exchange, including high-frequency traders, will be required to register with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority once a rule change proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission is finalized. Commissioner Daniel Gallagher, however, wasn’t keen on the idea of treating FINRA as “the SEC’s deputy federal regulator.” ...
-
Blog
Congress Grills SEC on Budget Request
Image: SEC Chair Mary Jo White was in the hot seat Tuesday during during a hearing before the House Committee on Financial Services. Republicans scrutinized her $1.7 billion budget request, while Democrats blasted the Commission’s “bad actor” waiver process and a decision not to require political spending disclosures.
-
Article
High Court Ruling Is Boon for Regulators, Snare for Business
Image: Compliance officers worried about regulatory change, prepare yourself: The Supreme Court’s ruling to give agencies more leeway in re-interpreting rules does you no favors. Today’s estranged Washington politics means regulators are bound to try re-interpretation for the sake of expedient rulemaking, and CCOs will need to be vigilant. “This ...
-
Blog
Aguilar: SEC Must Extend Its Global Reach
SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar, an outspoken proponent of stronger agency oversight, says the regulator must do more to extend its global reach. In a recent speech, Aguilar framed the SEC’s imperative simply: “As companies increasingly have foreign operations, the SEC will need to address how best to extend its supervisory ...