Category: Securities
SEC sends a message — to executives and their companies
by Cydney Posner In October 2013, SEC Chair Mary Jo White gave a speech at the Securities Enforcement Forum in which she declared an “enforcement mission” of the SEC to be implementation of the “broken windows” theory of crime deterrence made famous decades ago in NYC: “The [‘broken windows’] theory is […]
Whether 1992 or 2013 version of COSO framework — disclose in management’s and auditor’s internal control reports
by Cydney Posner Last week, I posted a piece regarding the “squishy” deadline (to borrow the term of art coined by the COSO Chair) for implementation of the new 2013 COSO internal control framework. As you may recall, the original 1992 COSO internal control framework is deemed by COSO to […]
Whether 1992 or 2013 version of COSO framework — disclose in management’s and auditor’s internal control reports
by Cydney Posner Last week, I posted a piece regarding the “squishy” deadline (to borrow the term of art coined by the COSO Chair) for implementation of the new 2013 COSO internal control framework. As you may recall, the original 1992 COSO internal control framework is deemed by COSO to […]
Publish the list — hold the irony
by Cydney Posner As required by section 1502(d)(3)(C) of Dodd-Frank, the U.S. Commerce Department has compiled and posted (albeit more than a year late) a list of ”all known conflict mineral processing facilities worldwide.” Without the slightest hint of irony, Commerce notes that the list does “not indicate whether a […]
Is it OK to delay implementation of the new COSO framework?
by Cydney Posner With the original 1992 COSO internal control framework deemed by COSO to be “superseded” as of December 15, 2014, companies are fast approaching the deadline for adoption of the updated 2013 COSO framework, But is it really a deadline? As quoted in this article in Compliance Week, COSO […]
Stinging dissent by Commissioner Aguilar: Is the SEC making fraudulent behavior look like an innocent mistake?
by Cydney Posner Following on the heels of a case, discussed in this post, in which a CEO and CFO were charged with internal control and books and records violations (but no typical financial statement fraud allegation), comes another case against a CEO and CFO that likewise concluded with violations of […]
FASB issues new ASU to fill the gap in GAAP guidance regarding going-concern uncertainties
by Cydney Posner Yesterday, FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) regarding the disclosure of uncertainties about a company’s ability to continue as a going concern. ASU 2014-15 “provides guidance to an organization’s management, with principles and definitions that are intended to reduce diversity in the timing and content of disclosures […]
SEC approves NASDAQ proposal to eliminate automatic upgrade to Global Select Market
by Cydney Posner The SEC has approved NASDAQ’s proposal, as discussed in this post, to modify Rule 5305 to eliminate the annual review and automatic transfer of companies from the NASDAQ Global Market to the NASDAQ Global Select Market. As a result, NASDAQ will now review Global Market-listed companies for […]
Academic study shows increases in insider sales prior to public release of certain SEC comment letters
by Cydney Posner Articles in Compliance Week and Forbes report on a recent academic study showing unusually high levels of stock sales by insiders in the period prior to public release of SEC comment letters that addressed revenue recognition issues, a topic that can often spell trouble at many companies. The level of […]