All SEC articles – Page 82
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Blog
SEC Looks for Disclosures, Consistency in Revenue Rule; May Offer Guidance
Image: Companies that can’t say by year’s end how they will be affected by the new revenue standard should let investors know when they will have it sorted out. SEC Deputy Chief Accountant Wesley Bricker said recently, “As companies prepare their annual financial statements over the next couple of months, ...
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Blog
Regulators Continue Full Throttle on Internal Controls
Image: SEC Chief Accountant Jim Schnurr is encouraging preparers to communicate more with auditors and consider that tensions might be escalating because their controls aren’t up to snuff. “The ICFR issues identified by the PCAOB may not be just a problem of audit execution,” Schnurr said. “Rather, they may, at ...
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Blog
SEC to Consider Staff Proposal on IFRS
Image: The SEC is considering making amendments to rules that would give domestic issuers the chance to provide IFRS-based information as a supplement to U.S. GAAP financial statements. At a recent conference, SEC Chair Mary Jo White said, “The staff has now developed a recommendation for the Commission’s consideration, which ...
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Article
SEC’s Concerns Prod a Rethinking of Outsourced Compliance
Image: Faced with budget constraints, firms frequently turn to external professionals to supplement compliance programs—but the SEC has provided a laundry list of problems with that approach. “The SEC has not banned outsourced compliance in any way or said it is presumptively disfavored, but reading between the lines you get ...
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Blog
SEC Charges Grant Thornton, Two Partners
The SEC delivered a heavy blow to Grant Thornton and two of its engagement partners last week with charges they ignored red flags and fraud risks at two public companies that ultimately faced enforcement actions of their own. Grant Thornton agreed to a penalty of $3 million, forfeited $1.5 million ...
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Amid Financial Reporting Changes, SEC Offers Cautions
With changes looming on accounting standards for revenue recognition, leases, financial instruments, and more, skittish corporate accountants often turn to the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance and staff accountants, relying on phone briefings and pre-clearing consultations to get ahead of financial reporting issues before they result in an SEC comment ...
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Article
Working With External Compliance Monitors
Image: So your company has just entered into a settlement with a U.S. government agency and must now install a compliance monitor. How do you respond? For many companies, working with an external compliance monitor is still an intimidating process tainted by misconceptions. “A monitorship was never designed to ...
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SEC Girds for Next Wave of Political Battles
On paper, the next several months mark the final stretch for the SEC’s implementation of Dodd-Frank Act rulemaking. In reality expect continued battles over the law, waged by both Republicans and Democrats. Recent congressional hearings gave a sense of what’s to come: stress tests for asset management funds, fights over ...
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Blog
PTC Could Pay $28.2 Million in FCPA Case
Computer software company PTC disclosed in an annual report last week that it is discussing a tentative $28.2 million settlement with the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve an investigation of potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The potential violations concern expenditures by ...
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Companies Aren’t Waiting for SEC to Revamp Financial Disclosures
A new survey that many companies are not waiting for the SEC to complete its anticipated review of disclosure requirements; some are already taking matters into their own hands, and they have advice for others who want to get ahead of the process. “Be aggressive,” says David Cornish, deputy comptroller ...
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Article
SEC’s Next Move on Conflict Minerals Rule Could Open a Pandora’s Box
The SEC finds itself yet again at a legal crossroads concerning its embattled Conflict Minerals Rule. One path leads to the Supreme Court; the other, a retreat from a cornerstone of the rule’s disclosure requirements. At stake is not just the Conflict Minerals Rule alone, but potentially a wide range ...
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Blog
Crawford & Company Self-Reports FCPA Investigation
Crawford & Company said yesterday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has launched an internal investigation into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The claims management company also said it has voluntarily self-reported the potential FCPA violations to the SEC and the Department ...
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Article
As Companies Prep for Proxy Season, No-Action Conundrums Abound
Image: Companies preparing for proxy season face a profound change in how the SEC views the exclusion of shareholder proposals. New guidance on that point is decidedly pro-shareholder and makes a confusing landscape even more so. “This was an early Christmas gift, wrapped up in a bow” for activist investors, ...
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Blog
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Discloses FCPA Probe
Alexion Pharmaceuticals said this week in a securities filing that it is being investigated by the Department of Justice concerning potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. As previously disclosed, Alexion received a subpoena in May in connection with an investigation by the SEC’s Enforcement Division “requesting information related ...
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Blog
SEC Mulls Audit Committee Mandates as Voluntary Disclosures Grow
As the SEC considers the potential for new disclosure requirements for audit committees, audit committees themselves are volunteering more, according to recent analysis by the Center for Audit Quality and Audit Analytics. The analysis revealed one-fourth of companies in the S&P 500 enhanced their discussion around the audit committee’s appointment ...
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Blog
Caldwell Explains New Compliance Officer Counsel
Image: During remarks at a recent conference in New York, Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell offered some insight about the Justice Department’s newly established compliance counsel position and how this individual will help the Criminal Division assess compliance programs. “Unfortunately, a surprising number of companies still lack rigorous compliance programs,” ...
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Blog
SEC Files Crowdfunding Fraud Complaint
In the same month that the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Regulation Crowdfunding, permitting startups and small businesses to raise capital by offering and selling securities through crowdfunding, the agency also filed its first complaint for crowdfunding fraud. The case highlights the emerging risk posed by online fundraising for the ...
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Blog
SEC Expects Year-End Disclosures on Revenue Rule Plans
Image: SEC Chief Accountant Jim Schnurr has advised audit committees to get involved in overseeing implementation of the new revenue standard, which takes effect in 2018. Schnurr said that should include disclosures about how the standard will affect financial statements. “We expect the level of these disclosures to increase and ...
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Blog
SEC Expects Year-End Disclosures on Revenue Rule Plans
Image: SEC Chief Accountant Jim Schnurr has advised audit committees to get involved in overseeing implementation of the new revenue standard, which takes effect in 2018. Schnurr said that should include disclosures about how the standard will affect financial statements. “We expect the level of these disclosures to increase and ...
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Blog
SEC: First-of-Their-Kind Actions Take the Spotlight in 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission continued to build a strong record of first-of-their-kind cases that spanned the spectrum of the securities industry, according to the agency’s fiscal year 2015 enforcement report. The SEC filed 807 enforcement actions, obtaining approximately $4.2 billion in disgorgement and penalties—an increase from the 755 enforcement ...