Companies worried about facilitation payments in light of Britain’s new Bribery Act and other similar laws may want to review their policies on the subject—that is, assuming they even have one. A review of the codes of conduct at 40 oil and gas companies—which are especially prone to encounter requests for facilitation payments, considering the […]
Arielle Bikard
Posted inInternal Controls
SEC Publishes Study on Auditing Internal Controls
The staff of the office of the chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission published its study on April 22, as required under the Dodd-Frank Act, examining Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires public companies’ auditors to report on, and attest to, management’s assessment of its internal controls. The 118-page release […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
New Requirements for Drug Manufacturers
The White House and the Food and Drug Administration both released plans aimed at reducing prescription drug abuse in the United States on April 19. The Administration’s Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Crisis expands state-based prescription drug monitoring programs “especially regarding real-time data access by clinicians, and to increase inter-state operability and communication.” The statement […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Ding Dong! The 1099 Expansion is Dead
President Obama signed a bill to repeal the new Internal Revenue Form 1099 reporting requirements, which were bundled into his health care reform on April 14. “Today, I was pleased to take another step to relieve unnecessary burdens on small businesses by signing H.R. 4 into law,” Obama said in a statement. The bill allows […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
03/22/11 – Roundtable Bios
On March 22, 2011, Compliance Week and Crowe Horwath presented an editorial roundtable at the Ritz-Carloton Dallas. More than 10 chief compliance officers attended the discussion, which focused on corporate ethics: understanding it, improving it, and demonstrating it. The forum was moderated by Compliance Week Editor Matt Kelly. Attendees’ full biographies are below. Audrey Andrews […]
Posted inAnti-Bribery
Lessons From J&J’s $70 Million FCPA Settlement
Companies searching for guidance on good Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance can learn a thing or two from the Johnson & Johnson case—not only about what the company did right, but where it went wrong, too. The pharmaceutical and healthcare giant agreed to pay a total of $70 million in a settlement with the Justice […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Shop Talk: At the Intersection of Ethics and Compliance
These days, after years of pressure from regulators and shareholders, most large public companies have a chief compliance officer with (relatively) clear areas of responsibility and lines of authority. THE PANELISTS The following executives participated in the March 22 roundtable on corporate ethics. Audrey Andrews, Chief Compliance Officer, Tenet Healthcare Bobby Butler, Chief Compliance Officer, […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Corp Fin Updates Financial Reporting Manual
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance updated its Financial Reporting Manual on April 4. The new version revises topics including reporting status (according to Section 404 in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act), financial statement requirements for multiple series registrants, income averaging, changes in accountants, and foreign business financial statements, says Melanie Dolan, a partner […]
Posted inUncategorized
SEC, CFTC to Host Roundtable on Derivatives Rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will jointly host a two-day public roundtable “to discuss the schedule” for implementing final rules to regulate the derivatives market, the SEC announced today in a statement. The event is scheduled to begin on May 2. “The roundtable will provide the public with the opportunity […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC’s Budget Increases by Half of Requested Amount
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s budget increase for the rest of this year will be half, or 53 percent, of the amount requested. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s budget will increase by $74 million, according to the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ summary of its budget bill for the 2011 fiscal year. This represents a 7 […]