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by Cydney Posner With the original 1992 COSO internal control framework deemed by COSO to be “superseded” as of December 15, 2014, companies are fast approaching the deadline for adoption of the updated 2013 COSO framework, But is it really a deadline?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 […]

SEC issues fee rate advisory for fiscal 2015

by Cydney Posner On Friday, the SEC announced that the fees for registration of securities and certain other transactions in fiscal 2015 will be $116.20 per million dollars, down from  $128.80 per million dollars last year.   Under Dodd-Frank, the annual rate changes must take effect on the first day of […]

Does size matter?

by Cydney Posner According to a study of boards of directors conducted for the WSJ, size does matter, and major corporations with smaller boards of directors tend to outperform their peers with larger boards.  (The study is discussed in the article entitled “Smaller Boards Get Bigger Returns” by Joann S. […]

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 adopts rules for credit rating agencies

by Cydney Posner At an open meeting this morning, the SEC adopted, by a vote of three to two, rule amendments and new rules to implement provisions of Dodd-Frank applicable to credit rating agencies registered as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs), as well as providers of third-party due diligence […]