CEO-employee pay ratios may not be as bad as feared, says Mercer study
by Cydney Posner There’s been a lot of hand-wringing about what the data will show when public companies are finally required, in 2018, to disclose their CEO-to-median-employee pay ratios as required by new SEC rules implementing Dodd-Frank (discussed in this Cooley Alert). Not to worry! Those ratios promise to be […]
Climate change tops the list of issues in comments on Reg S-K concept release
by Cydney Posner According to BNA, at a recent conference, Corp Fin Director Keith Higgins reported that the highest proportion of comments so far received on the Reg S-K Concept Release related to better environmental and social responsibility disclosure. As SEC Chair Mary Jo White indicated a few months ago: the […]
Has Corp Fin “evolved” on exclusion of proxy access proposals under Rule 14a-8(i)(10)?
by Cydney Posner Until yesterday, there were five no-action requests regarding proxy access proposals from the McRitchie/Chevedden group awaiting responses from Corp Fin as to whether the proposals could be excluded on the basis that they had been “substantially implemented” under Rule 14a-8(i)(10). The burning question was whether there would […]
T+2?
by Cydney Posner At an open meeting this morning, the SEC voted to propose shortening the standard settlement cycle for most broker-dealer transactions from three business days after the trade date to two business days after the trade date, i.e., T+2. The SEC’s mandatory settlement cycle (Rule 15c6-1) was first […]
Auditor independence follow-up (updated)
by Cydney Posner As discussed in this PubCo post, last week, the SEC announced settled charges against EY and individual EY auditors (and certain officers at the audit clients involved) with regard to alleged violations of the auditor independence rules as a result of “close personal relationships” with officers at […]
New CDI regarding investments through a self-directed “brokerage window” under a 401(k)
by Cydney Posner Today, Corp Fin posted a new CDI under both Securities Act Section 5 and Form S-8. The CDI involves the issue of whether a company-sponsored 401(k) plan that does not offer an employer securities fund as an investment alternative might still be deemed to be offering employer […]
Does a low favorable vote for a say-on-pay proposal affect directors’ reputations outside the company?
by Cydney Posner As discussed in a PubCo post last week, say on pay has had some surprising consequences. While there hasn’t been much impact on the levels of executive pay, according to this paper, one group that have experienced some impact from say on pay are directors. The academic study indicates […]
Are the days of “I’ll-scratch-your-back” cronyism history?
by Cydney Posner As discussed in a PubCo post last week, a theory that is currently gaining purchase is that, whether as a result of say on pay or otherwise, the increased influence of proxy advisory firms has led to a kind of homogenization of executive pay packages based on […]
First SEC enforcement actions for violations of auditor independence rules resulting from personal relationships
by Cydney Posner In two orders made public today, the SEC announced settled charges against EY and individual EY auditors (and officers involved at the subject companies) with regard to alleged violations of the auditor independence rules as a result of “close personal relationships” with officers at audit clients. According […]
No more “Tandy” letters from Corp Fin staff
by Cydney Posner Corp Fin has just announced that it will no longer require companies to include “Tandy” language in company responses to staff comment letters. “Tandy” language is a written representation from the company acknowledging that the disclosure in the document was its responsibility and that it would not […]