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Remediation Center

Remediation Center: Whistleblower Rules and Attorney-Client Privilege

Steven Scholes March 01, 2011

Will the SEC's new whistleblower program interfere with attorney-client privilege in internal investigations? Short answer: No, according to Steven Scholes of the law firm McDermott Will & Emery. His complete run-down on the legal implications of the SEC's whistleblower proposal is inside.

Remediation Center: When SOX Applies to Public Debt

Vasiliki Tsaganos December 07, 2010

Does a company that has gone private but still carries public debt need to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley? Short answer: Yes, according to Vasiliki Tsaganos, a partner at law firm Fried Frank. Her complete run-down on filing obligations is inside.

Remediation Center: CCOs, Subsidiaries & Reporting Roles

Brotman Ellen August 03, 2010

At the request of subscribers, Compliance Week offers a Remediation Center, in which readers can submit questionsanonymouslyto securities and accounting experts. Compliance Weeks editors will review all questions and then submit themconfidentially, of courseto specialists who can address the issues. The questions and responses will then be reprinted in a future edition of Compliance Week. Below is one of the Q ask your own questions by clicking here.

Remediation Center: Tying SOX Compliance to Compensation

Barken Lee April 15, 2008

At the request of subscribers, Compliance Week offers a Remediation Center, in which readers can submit questions—anonymously—to securities and accounting experts. Compliance Week's editors will review all questions and then submit them—confidentially, of course—to specialists who can address the issues. The questions and responses will then be reprinted in a future edition of Compliance Week. Below is one of the Q ask your own questions by clicking here.

Remediation Center: Stock Option Strike Prices Under 409A

Ling S. Tony September 11, 2007

If a company uses the average price of its stock over the 10-day period prior to the grant date to determine the strike price for stock options granted, is this method permissible under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code? The option agreement specifically requires this method of determining the strike price and is used consistently by our company. We have reviewed past grants and have determined that for some awards, the strike price is lower than the fair market value of the stock on the grant date. Does this create an issue even though the method is required by the option agreement? Are there any potential Section 409A issues?

Remediation Center: Management Letters

Popanz Tony June 05, 2007

As a result of our fiscal 2006 audit, our external auditors are preparing a "management letter" on our internal control over financial reporting that may include one or more material weaknesses. (We don't know exactly what will be in the letter.) We are a non-accelerated filer, and have two questions: (1) To whom will our auditors present this letter, and (2) Are we required to make some sort of disclosure about this in our 10-K filing?

Remediation Center: Recordkeeping Rules

De Martino Ralph May 08, 2007

When a public company divests a business unit that will become a private company, what are the recordkeeping considerations for SOX documentation and testing materials? Must the public seller retain the SOX records unique to the divested operation?

Remediation Center: Delegating Authority

Zecca Anthony February 27, 2007

Anthony Zecca, a CPA and the managing partner of Cohn Consulting Services, a division of J.H. Cohn, gives insight into whether an employee can delegate his or her signature to a lower level in the organization without creating an internal control weakness.

Remediation Center: SOX And Discontinued Operations

Compliance Week October 17, 2006

Richard Davis, a senior manager in Grant Thornton's business advisory services practice, talks about how a company should consider discontinued operations in its annual SOX testing.

Remediation Center: Going Private With Public Debt

Compliance Week August 01, 2006

Stephen Quinlivan, a securities lawyer with Leonard, Street and Deinard, explains the compliance regulations that apply when a company goes private using publicly traded debt.

Remediation Center: When Spinoffs Meet SOX 404

Compliance Week July 05, 2006

Thomas Selling, a financial reporting consultant and accounting professor, explains when a corporate spinoff must begin complying with Section 404.

Remediation Center: Mechanics Of 404 Exclusions

Compliance Week May 16, 2006

Russell Ryan, a securities lawyer and former staff attorney with the SEC, explains the mechanics of how a company can exclude recent acquisitions from its internal control attestations.

Remediation Center: Amended Filings, Documented Objectives

Compliance Week April 18, 2006

Tony Popanz of Jefferson Wells answers questions about how amending a 10-K affects attestations to internal controls, and about how Audit Standard 2 expects companies to identify control objectives.

Remediation Center: Aggregating Material Deficiencies

Compliance Week, Finley Jack March 14, 2006

Jack Finley of Hudson Financial Solutions tackles the issue of materiality thresholds within a corporation.

Remediation Center: FDICIA Control Documentation

Compliance Week February 14, 2006

Kathleen Blanchard, senior manager at Enterprise Financial Consulting, provides insight on a subscriber's question on FDICIA control documentation.

Remediation Center: Auditing The Use Of Spreadsheets

Compliance Week January 24, 2006

Ventana Research VP & Research Director FPM Robert Kugel provides insight on a subscriber's question on the use of spreadsheets for SOX 404 purposes.

Remediation Center: Remediation Materiality Thresholds

Leech Tim January 10, 2006

Lehigh University Accounting Professor Parveen Gupta, and Paisley Consulting Chief Methodology Officer Tim Leech provide a tag-team answer to a subscriber's question on disclosure of remediation related to significant deficiencies.

Remediation Center: 404 Exit Clause For Accelerated Filers

Strait Karl January 10, 2006

McGuireWoods partner Karl Strait provides insight on a subscriber's question on the terms of the accelerated filer SOX 404 exemption.

Remediation Center: What's A "Public Trading Market?"

Hord III Charles December 06, 2005

Charles Hord III, a partner with Chadbourne & Parke, fields a "Remediation Center" question from a subscriber with a question about the definition of a public trading market.

Remediation Center: 409A, Valuation At Pre-IPO Co.

Wirtshafter John November 29, 2005

John Wirtshafter, an employee benefits attorney and shareholder with McDonald Hopkins, fields a "Remediation Center" question from a subscriber with stock option valuation issues.

Remediation Center: Is It Market Cap Or Public Float?

Sachs Paul November 22, 2005

Paul Sachs of Protiviti answers this "Remediation Center" question regarding the definition of accelerated filers.

Remediation Center: M&A And SOX 404 Testing

Ristuccia Henry November 22, 2005

Henry Ristuccia of Deloitte answers this "Remediation Center" question regarding M&A and SOX 404 testing.

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