All Compliance Week articles in Web Issue – Page 606
-
Blog
Going Concerns Fall in 2014 in “Mixed Bag” of Results
According to the latest data from Audit Analytics, the number of audit opinions that included a question from auditors regarding whether the company could remain in business another year appears to have fallen in 2014 from 2013. Based on this estimation, the research firm says 2014 going-concern opinions finished out ...
-
Blog
SASB Unveils Guide for ESG Disclosures
For companies that want to integrate sustainability and corporate responsibility reporting into existing 10-K or 20-F disclosures, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board recently issued a new reference document intended to assist that integration. The implementation guide will help issuers achieve three objectives: identify the industry-specific sustainability topics most likely to ...
-
Blog
NetSuite, Namely Partnership Bridges HR and Financial Data
NetSuite, an ERP/financial system used by more than 24,000 organizations, and Namely, an HR, payroll, and benefits platform provider, announced today that they have joined forces to help mid-sized companies streamline financials and HR. For the first time, financial executives will be able to view and manage all their financial ...
-
Blog
SEC Initiated Record Enforcement Actions in 2015
The number of enforcement actions initiated by the SEC has steadily increased over the past six fiscal years, reaching a record high in 2015, according to a recent report drawing on data from the Securities Enforcement Empirical Database (SEED) that tracks and records information on SEC enforcement actions filed against ...
-
Blog
Compliance Convergence: the Consequences of an Export Control Failure
When a Hellfire missile intended to be shipped from Germany to the United States accidentally ends up in Cuba, more than a few eyebrows raised over it, especially since such sensitive cargo was handled by multiple shipping companies that never seemed to check the manifest or wonder why one of ...
-
Article
Bad News for Banks: More Regulatory Risk Is Coming, With a Political Twist
Banks can look forward to a 2016 with additional regulatory risk, with rules layered upon rules, heightened capital requirements, and cyber-security casting an ever-darkening shadow. Even political risk is a reason for concern; With a presidential race underway, calls for breaking up big banks, and reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act, are ...
-
Blog
Why All the Fuss Over Culture?
We hear a great deal about corporate culture and its relevance to such matters as internal control, risk management, whether to pursue a merger or acquisition, and the effect on regulators’ investigations and enforcement actions. It seems we can’t get away from hearing about it, and we begin to wonder ...
-
Blog
The SEC’s Newly Proclaimed Search Warrant Authority
The Securities and Exchange Commission has broad subpoena powers that this dedicated corps of highly credentialed professionals—inspired by a noble sense of mission, and rich with a long history of investor advocacy—tries to use in the best way possible. But when it comes to issuing subpoenas for electronic storage devices, ...
-
Article
New Accounting Standard Provides a Host of Potential Changes for Financial Reporting
Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-01 is here, and its impact on how to classify and measure financial instruments will mean different things to different companies, especially when it comes to setting valuation. But with a lack of universal impact, this update will require everyone to take a look at their ...
-
Article
Systemic Cases Dominate EEOC Enforcement
Image: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission achieved record enforcement results in 2015 and shows no signs of letting up this year. The good news is that employers now have a leg up in defending EEOC claims where they had little to no leverage before. “The EEOC’s focus on systemic investigations ...
-
Blog
EZCORP Names Chief Accounting Officer Amid Financial Restatements
EZCORP has appointed David McGuire as deputy chief financial officer and chief accounting officer, effective as of Jan. 11. The hiring of McGuire comes two months after the payday lender and pawn shop operator announced that it has filed its amended and past due periodic reports with the Securities and ...
-
Article
Mitigating Cyber-Threats From the Inside Out
As attacks on corporate networks become more common, companies are getting more adept at protecting their most valuable assets against cyber-threats outside the company, but it’s the insider threats that continue to elude many. Inside, we walk through the difficult part of insider-threat programs: not just creating the program and ...
-
Article
SEC Pushed Toward Creating New Board Composition Disclosures
Image: As businesses become more risk-prone and globalized, investors are demanding that fresh blood be infused into boards. So too are legislators with a desire to leverage SEC disclosures as a tool to bolster the ranks of directors and embed cyber-security knowledge. These efforts place a focus on board composition, ...
-
Blog
New Report Shows SEC Bringing More, Larger APs Against Public Companies
A new report offers some interesting angles on the SEC's enforcement actions against public companies since 2010. Among other things, the report shows that since FY 2010, SEC enforcement has undergone a "dramatic shift" in its choice of venue for bringing cases against public company defendants, with a significant move ...
-
Blog
IASB Releases Final Lease Standard
Image: The IASB has issued its long-awaited accounting standard requiring assets and liabilities associated with leases to be added to corporate balance sheets. Companies that follow International Financial Reporting Standards have until 2019 to adopt the standard. “It’s been a long road getting to this event,” says Sean Torr, a ...
-
Blog
Game of War
Image: When it comes to video games, there are violent games, games that are objectionably violent, and then there are games that actually manage to cross an ethical line in the sand. So when CW Editor Bill Coffin’s son asked for a game for Christmas that hit that third category, ...
-
Blog
House Passes Regulation-Cutting SCRUB Act
Federal legislation that seeks to eliminate outdated and duplicative regulations was passed in the House of Representatives last week. The Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act, which awaits a Senate vote, would establish a bipartisan commission to review existing federal regulations and identify those that ...
-
Blog
SEC Announces 2016 Examination Priorities
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations has released an overview of its examination priorities for 2016. New areas of focus include liquidity controls, public pension advisers, product promotion, exchange-traded funds, and variable annuities. A continuing focus will be placed on protecting investors in ongoing risk areas such as ...
-
Blog
U.K. Printing Company to Pay £2.2 Million in Bribery Case
The Southwark Crown Court in London last week ordered U.K. printing company Smith and Ouzman to pay a total of £2.2 million for making corrupt payments. The sentence and conviction followed a four-year investigation by the U.K. Serious Fraud Office.