The European Union’s highest court has rejected a claim that documents created by in-house counsel are covered by lawyer-client confidentiality in competition cases. The ruling leaves E.U. law in conflict with the legal position that holds in several of its member states. The European Court of Justice this week upheld a controversial lower court ruling […]
Global Glimpses
Posted inFrom the Archive
Compliance Silence Costs Goldman Sachs £17.5m ($27m)
The U.K. Financial Services Authority has fined the London arm of investment bank Goldman Sachs £17.5 million ($27 million) for a breach of its rules. The penalty stems from a lack of communication between the firm’s U.S. operations and its London compliance department. The regulator penalized Goldman Sachs International (GSI) because it failed to tell […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
South Africa Sets Shareholder Standard
South Africa has published a draft code of behavior setting out how institutional investors should engage with listed companies on corporate governance issues. The draft “Code for Responsible Investing by Institutional Investors in South Africa” aims to provide guidance on how shareholders should exercise their rights and influence in a responsible and accountable way. It […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Europe Agrees U.S. Audit Intelligence Swap, for Now
The European Commission has finally allowed national audit oversight bodies to share intelligence with their U.S. counterparts, but only on a trial basis. The Commission shut U.S. audit regulators out of a deal reached with other countries last September because they wouldn’t agree to share their working papers in return. In the European Union, audit […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
UN Launches Anti-Corruption Academy
A United Nations-backed organization has opened in Austria this week with a brief to help compliance officers and others tackle corruption. The International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), based in Laxenburg, aims to meet what it says is a rising global need for training and research on corruption issues. It will also provide information about corruption trends […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
European Shareholders Lack Influence
The European Commission should not overestimate the role that shareholders can play in corporate governance improvement, according to a body that represents big pension funds. A recent Commission green paper on governance reform said institutional shareholders were partly to blame for the financial crisis because they hadn’t performed their ownership role properly. It also said […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Outsourcing Failure Lands Zurich Record Fine
U.K. regulator the Financial Services Authority has hit Zurich Insurance with a record fine for failing to keep confidential customer information safe. Zurich lost the personal details of 46,000 customers, including in some cases their bank and credit card information. The regulator found that the company did not have adequate systems and controls in place […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Barclays Forfeits $298 Million for Criminal Violations
Barclays Bank PLC, a United Kingdom corporation headquartered in London, has agreed to forfeit $298 million to the United States and to the New York County District Attorney’s Office in connection with violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA), both of which make it a […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
IASB Backs Global Sustainability Project
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has thrown its weight behind a plan to develop a globally accepted framework for sustainability accounting. The involvement of the IASB in the project means that the framework could become an integral part of the reporting standards that companies in hundreds of countries—but not yet the U.S.—are required to […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Audit Standard Setter Calls for Skepticism
The body that sets U.K. external audit standards has issued a consultation paper aimed at finding ways of making audit firms more skeptical. The move follows criticism that auditors have been too soft on their clients, especially in the run up to the financial crisis, and were signing off their accounts without challenging management judgments. […]