by Cydney Posner
As discussed in this article, the WSJ engaged Audit Analytics to perform an analysis of SEC comment letters and company responses regarding the use of non-GAAP financial measures. What did they find? Companies are winning the argument more often than you might think. Continue reading
Filed under Accounting and Auditing, Securities
by Cydney Posner
The Corp Fin staff have been dropping hints for quite a while about potential enforcement actions in connection with abuses of non-GAAP financial measures (see, e.g., this PubCo post), and an interesting one has now materialized. In an Order released today, the SEC announced settled charges against MDC Partners, Inc., a publicly traded marketing firm, for failure to comply with the rules related to non-GAAP financial measures. In addition, the company was charged with failure to disclose millions in perks awarded to its former CEO. Continue reading
by Cydney Posner
What are audit committee members’ greatest concerns? Audit committee members participating in KPMG’s 2017 Global Audit Committee Pulse Survey identified risk management as the biggest challenge for audit committees in 2017, with 42% of those surveyed characterizing their existing risk management programs as requiring “substantial work,” and a “similar percentage” indicating that it is “increasingly difficult to oversee those major risks.” However, only 51% indicated that they have the time to oversee major risks effectively and only 46% say they have the expertise. Moreover, 39 % say it is increasingly difficult to find the necessary time and 43% say the same with regard to the necessary expertise. Also high on the list of challenges were legal/regulatory compliance, cybersecurity risk, the control environment in the extended organization and tone at the top. Continue reading
Filed under Accounting and Auditing, Corporate Governance
by Cydney Posner
At a meeting yesterday of the PCAOB’s Investor Advisory Group, two working groups reported on topics that might be of particular interest: non-GAAP financial measures and enhanced audit reports. Continue reading
Filed under Accounting and Auditing
