Category: Securities
FINRA issues seven new FAQs regarding research conflict-of-interest rules
by Cydney Posner Last week, FINRA released seven new FAQs related to the research conflict of interest rules. In essence, FINRA analyzes the types of facts and circumstances that might be decisive in determining whether certain conduct or communications are prohibited under the conflict-of-interest rules. According to FINRA, the risks […]
Former SEC Chairs and Commissioners to Chair Mary Jo White: failure to mandate political spending disclosure is “inexplicable”
by Cydney Posner Today, two former SEC Chairs and one former Commissioner delivered a letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White politely berating (well, maybe not so politely) her failure to take action on the 2011 rulemaking petition to require disclosure of the use of corporate resources for political activities.
CooleyAlert: “SEC Proposes New Rules on Pay Versus Performance”
by Cydney Posner See our CooleyAlert on the SEC’s proposed new pay-versus-performance rules. It’s called “SEC Proposes New Rules on Pay Versus Performance: When “Compensation Actually Paid” is Not Compensation Actually Paid and “Company Financial Performance” May be Unrelated to Company Financial Performance.” It’s mighty fine reading!
An end to IFRS in the U.S.?
by Cydney Posner On May 7, in remarks before a financial reporting conference in NYC, the SEC’s Chief Accountant, James Schnurr, signaled the end of the SEC’s efforts to converge International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) with U.S. GAAP. When Schnurr joined the SEC in October, he said, SEC Chair Mary Jo […]
Changes coming at the SEC
by Cydney Posner According to the WSJ, SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher is resigning from his position prior to the end of his term, which would otherwise conclude in 2017. The article reports that he will continue as a Commissioner until his successor has been confirmed. As noted in this post, […]
PCAOB publishes new “Audit Committee Dialogue”
by Cydney Posner The PCAOB has announced the publication of a new paper designed to address audit committees. The paper, Audit Committee Dialogue, provides insights from inspections of public company auditors that should assist audit committee members in overseeing their auditors. Other similar papers are anticipated. This paper highlights two areas: key […]
They spurred the stock buyback phenomenon. Will hedge fund activists now eviscerate R&D?
by Cydney Posner It is widely recognized that one of the primary causes of the current stock buyback phenomenon has been pressure from hedge fund activists. But, as suggested in this NYT DealBook column, the activist playbook is certainly not limited to buybacks and dividends: “[a]s activist hedge funds take […]
With two dissents, SEC proposes pay-for-performance disclosure rules
by Cydney Posner This morning, by a three to two margin, the SEC voted to propose rules requiring companies to disclose executive pay for performance. The proposal comes five years after passage of Dodd-Frank, which imposed the obligation on the SEC. Currently, many companies voluntarily provide information that could fit […]
Amnesty International and Global Witness scold companies for poor performance in complying with conflict minerals rule
by Cydney Posner Amnesty International and Global Witness have posted a paper, “Digging for Transparency,” evaluating the performance by 100 public companies in their inaugural season of conflict minerals reporting. The overall reaction: major disappointment.
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