All SEC articles – Page 87
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Blog
New Conflict Minerals Reporting Template Improves Smelter Identification
Image: Title: RohwerThe latest version of the Conflict Free Sourcing Initiative’s Conflict Minerals Reporting Template is now available. The report provides information on which countries smelters and refiners get their minerals from. The latest version of the report provides improved translations and a more accurate approach to smelter identification. “By ...
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Article
What SEC Rulemaking Generates the Most Buzz?
What rule proposals and petitions before the SEC attract the most comment letters? Not surprisingly, investors and their advocates flooded the SEC’s mailbox with form letters supporting measures such as enhanced whistleblower protections and disclosure of political contributions. Less feedback came from corporate representatives concerned with new rules on the ...
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Blog
SEC Preparing End to IFRS Speculation
The Securities and Exchange Commission may be preparing to put an end to the uncertainty about possible adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in the United States. SEC Chief Accountant James Schnurr said at a recent conference that he plans to make a recommendation to the full Commission in the ...
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Blog
Federal Regulators Probing Subprime Auto Loans
Ally Financial recently became the latest auto-lending company to face a government investigation into its subprime auto lending practices. In the last few months, GM Financial and Santander Consumer USA Holdings have received subpoenas from the Department of Justice for similar practices, raising questions among some as to whether the ...
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Blog
FASB Studies Possible Deferral for Revenue Recognition
Image: Title: KroekerFASB plans to consider in early 2015 whether to give companies more time to adopt the new revenue recognition standard. Although the board has received numerous requests for more time, at a recent meeting FASB Vice Chairman Jim Kroeker indicated little sympathy for delayed action. “To those who ...
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Article
SEC’s Disclosure Review Reignites Debate Over Forward-Looking Information
Companies, regulators, and investors have long debated the role of forward-looking information in disclosures, reports, and financial statements. In a new report, the CFA calls on the SEC to a use comprehensive disclosure review to decide what forward-looking information should be required in corporate disclosures and financial reports in particular. ...
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Article
Raising the Bar on Year-Two Conflict Minerals Disclosures
Image: Title: WallerstedtThe first year of conflict minerals disclosures was basically a trial run, with low expectations. Companies are now working on the next round of filings, and the SEC’s expectations for detail will be greater, experts say. The task is to move beyond mere data collection and push compliance ...
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Blog
Study Says CFOs Still Control Audit Fees at Many Companies
Image: Title: MauldinNew academic research suggests the CFO, not the audit committee, still often negotiates the audit fee, despite Sarbanes-Oxley Act provisions meant to put audit committees in the driver’s seat. “At many companies it is still primarily the CFO who calls the shots,” says Elaine Mauldin, professor at the ...
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Blog
Bio-Rad Laboratories Will Pay $55M to Settle FCPA Charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Bio-Rad Laboratories, a life sciences research company, with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when its subsidiaries made improper payments to foreign officials in Russia, Vietnam, and Thailand to win business. The company, which self-reported the misconduct, agreed to pay $55 million to ...
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Blog
Study: Paying Firms Get First Look at SEC’s EDGAR Filings
Oct. 29—A new study finds that a select group of professional investors gets an advance look at soon-to-be-public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Researchers found that a small group of subscribers who pay SEC-selected vendors for data feeds, among them hedge funds and high-frequency traders, receive access ...
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Blog
SEC Plans Early 2015 Concept Release on Audit Committee Upgrades
Image: Title: WhiteThe SEC expects to issue a concept release in early 2015 exploring possible avenues for elevating the work of public company audit committees, according to SEC Chair Mary Jo White. In recent remarks, White said the staff will address issues around the relationship between the audit committee and ...
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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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