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SEC Rulemaking

SEC Guidance Formats Continue to Proliferate

Reese Darragh September 27, 2011

Yet another form of SEC guidance debuted this month—the "CF Disclosure Guidance"—to discuss staff observations on reporting reverse mergers. It is the latest in a long list of various bulletins, letters, and interpretations the SEC now uses to instruct investors and issuers on proper compliance. Inside this week, we offer a refresher course on what's what, and how to use it.

SEC Extends Comment Period for Comp Adviser Independence

Arielle Bikard May 02, 2011

The SEC has agreed to extend the comment period on its proposal for new compensation committee and adviser independence rules, in response to a request from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Comments will now be accepted until May 19. The Chamber had asked for a 60-day extension to June 5.

SEC Pushes Back Whistleblower Rules

Arielle Bikard April 29, 2011

The SEC has pushed back its release of the final whistleblower protection rules. The original deadline had been April 17, but the agency has now moved the item to the list of rules that it expects to release by July. While the final rules could still come any day, the SEC has missed the April 21 deadline written into the Dodd-Frank Act.

Dodd-Frank Provisions Delayed As Much As 6 Months

Arielle Bikard April 11, 2011

The SEC has decided to delay rulemaking on numerous provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act for as long as six months, including rules on compensation committee and compensation adviser independence, disclosures on conflict minerals, pay-for-performance, clawback rules, and other proposals. Details inside.

Controversial Proxy Access Rule Gets Its Day in Court

Arielle Bikard April 05, 2011

The Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable made their best case last week for rescinding the Dodd-Frank Act's SEC proxy access rule in a federal appeals court. The rule, on hold since October, would allow shareholders with at least 3 percent of a company to nominate directors on the proxy.

Comments Extended on Three Dodd-Frank Proposals

Melissa Aguilar January 28, 2011

The Securities and Exchange Commission has extended the comment period for three rule proposals stemming from the Dodd-Frank Act that would require specialized new disclosures. The comment deadline for the proposals—which pertain to conflict minerals, mining, and government payments by extraction companies—was pushed from Jan. 31 to March 2.

The Fall Rulemaking Season Begins

Matt Kelly September 13, 2010

Well, autumn is here and everyone is back to work, including all your regulators in Washington. That means all those rules promised in the Dodd-Frank Act passed this summer will now start appearing, and compliance departments should plan accordingly.One of the most notable new rules has already arrived: shareholder access...

Disclosure Update From the SEC

Matt Kelly June 07, 2010

All you executives in charge of corporate disclosure or investor relations, take heart: The Securities and Exchange Commission feels your pain.So says Meredith Cross, head of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, who spoke this morning at the National Investor Relations Institute annual conference in San Diego. I’m at the...

Temporary Answer to XBRL's Collision With Codification

Matt Kelly July 30, 2009

News for those of you confused about how to comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new mandate to use XBRL technology in financial reporting: A new supply of confusion has just arrived.The latest batch of frustration erupted earlier this month, when largest companies in America had to start filing...

Questions About Obama's Regulatory Reforms

Matt Kelly June 17, 2009

A quick read of the Obama Administration’s proposed reforms of regulatory oversight leaves you with two impressions. First, for the large majority of compliance officers and financial reporting executives out there not involved in the financial sector, little will change. You still have much bigger concerns about increasingly aggressive folks...

Pre-gaming Compliance Week 2009

Matt Kelly June 02, 2009

Compliance Week’s annual conference happens in Washington, D.C., this week, and promises to be an information-packed event as usual. This is always my favorite week of the year—not just because the bar in the lobby of the Mayflower Hotel is legendary (although that helps), but also because this conference is...

Losing Steam on XBRL

Matt Kelly May 29, 2009

To the best of my knowledge, XBRL has no tag for “disinterest.” That’s unfortunate, since it seems to be the adjective that best fits the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission these days.Yes, large U.S. companies must begin filing financial statements tagged in XBRL technology starting June 15. Yes, that’s because...

IFRS Adoption, in the Deep Freeze Still

Matt Kelly March 10, 2009

Financial Executives International has just published a new report on the state of adopting International Financial Reporting Standards in the United States. It’s worthwhile reading, especially for anyone skeptical we can adopt IFRS here by 2014. Your suspicions will be validated. The report starts with several pages about the proper...

Dude, Where's My SEC Chairman?

Matt Kelly November 25, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama presented his economic team to the world this week. A new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commissioner was not part of the picture. That says a lot.For the record, I applaud the nominees Obama presented on Monday: Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary; Larry Summers as chairman...

SOX Lawsuit Keeps Refusing to Die

Matt Kelly November 19, 2008

From the I'd-rather-watch-paint-dry department: That conservative outfit still arguing that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is unconstitutional has, yet again, lost a court dispute and vowed to appeal. Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., voted 5-4 not to review the case, which argues that the structure of the...

The SEC Irrelevance Factor and You

Matt Kelly October 24, 2008

You've got to feel a bit of sympathy for SEC Chairman Christopher Cox these days. The SEC faces a Gordian knot on the regulatory front, certainly. But the SEC also faces a deeper, more serious political crisis: It is becoming irrelevant in the conversation now occurring across Washington to decide...

Live at XBRL International

Matt Kelly October 15, 2008

The Big Picture has gone on the road to Washington, D.C., to attend the XBRL International annual conference. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox is scheduled to speak this morning, and rumor is he might unveil the SEC’s final rule for mandating XBRL use in financial reporting. I suspect that’s not true,...

Chairman Cox, Ready for His Closeup

Matt Kelly September 04, 2008

Has anyone noticed the SEC is now making webcasts of its meetings much more available? Chairman Christopher Cox has always been a polished presence thanks to his years in Congress. But I can't help notice that, suddenly, they've gone multimedia over at 100 F Street. You can see Cox speak...

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