Month: January 2025
SEC charges Entergy with violation of internal accounting controls requirements
At the end of last year, the SEC announced settled charges against Entergy Corporation, a Louisiana-based utility company with shares traded on the NYSE, for failure to maintain internal accounting controls adequate to ensure that its surplus materials and supplies were accurately recorded on its books and financial statements in accordance with GAAP. The case represents yet another example where the charged misconduct related only to ineffective controls, without any associated charges of fraud. According to Sanjay Wadhwa, Acting SEC Enforcement Director, “internal accounting controls serve as a front-line defense in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of financial statements….Investors rely on public companies, such as Entergy, to ensure that adequate internal accounting controls are in place. We allege that Entergy failed to fulfill its obligation in this regard.” Entergy agreed to pay a civil penalty of $12 million. Rumor has it that we’re likely not going to see a lot more of these “controls-only” types of Enforcement actions once the SEC comes under new management.
Cooley Alert—Climate and Sustainability Regulations: 2024 End-of-Year Review
Just because we’re highly likely to see a monkey wrench thrown into the current SEC’s efforts to adopt regulations on climate and sustainability (see this PubCo post and this PubCo post) doesn’t mean that we won’t be seeing a lot of activity in connection with state and international ESG requirements, along with voluntary reporting standards and various stakeholder policies, that will affect many US and other companies in this new year. This new Cooley Alert, Climate and Sustainability Regulations: 2024 End-of-Year Review, from our Public Companies and ESG and Sustainability Advisory groups, provides a rundown of developments regarding current key climate and sustainability regulations, such as the California climate statutes and the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, and the scoop on significant stakeholder developments as of the end of 2024. The Alert also highlights “critical areas of focus for the year ahead.” If your company may be subject to any climate or sustainability frameworks—whether mandatory or voluntary—this is a comprehensive Cooley Alert that you need to read!
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