While staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission may be applauding the new federal budget proposed by President Barack Obama, counterparts at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are far from happy. In a proposed budget submitted to Congress on Tuesday, the White House is seeking $1.7 billion to fund the Securities and Exchange Commission for […]
Joe Mont
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Mexican Woes Spark Scrutiny of Citigroup’s Compliance Efforts
How to you know your compliance program isn’t working? For banking giant Citigroup, the answer includes a $400 million loss to fraud and being on the receiving end of two subpoenas. Citigroup revealed this week that it, and its Mexican subsidiary, Banco Nacional de Mexico, also known as Banamex, received subpoenas over recently detailed bad […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
A Final Conflict Minerals Obstacle Awaits: Form SD
So much work has been put into vetting suppliers and assessing products for compliance with new conflict minerals disclosure requirements that many companies may have not yet fully considered the actual filing protocol that is the end game for those supply chain reviews. When companies do crack into the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new Form […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
SEC to Focus More on Data in Examinations, Inspections
A four-letter word was uttered early and often at a recent conference that brought together top officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission: Data. In recent years, the SEC has made no secret of its desire to deploy sophisticated new technology capable of parsing the petabytes of data it collects to identify financial reporting red […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
FINRA Fines Suffered a Double-Digit Drop in 2013
While the Securities and Exchange Commission and other government regulators hit companies with record fines, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s monetary sanctions significantly declined in 2013, despite bringing nearly the same number of disciplinary actions as it did in 2012. The self-regulatory organization had a 27 percent decrease in fines, according to an annual review […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Study: Cyber-security Forces Boards to Rethink Risk Oversight
Experience overseeing the growing threat of cybersecurity risk is a key attribute boards will look for when appointing their next new corporate director, concludes the 11th annual “What Directors Think” survey, a report on boardroom trends. That same study finds boards still wrestling with how, and when, to encourage director turnover and bring in fresh […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
House Passes Bill Demanding Greater Rulemaking Transparency
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that strives to “create a more open and transparent regulatory process” by requiring the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to publish information about pending regulations and related cost-benefit studies online. It would also require federal agencies to update regulatory agendas on a monthly […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Delayed for Months, Senators Will Finally Question CFTC Hopefuls
The long-delayed first step to filling vacant seats on the Commodities Futures Trading Commission takes place next week, when the Senate Agriculture Committee gets its first chance to question three Obama Administration nominees. On March 6, Initiating the confirmation process, the committee will hear from Timothy Massad, picked to replace former chairman Gary Gensler, as […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
JPMorgan’s Top Compliance Officer Departs Bank
Amid $23 billion in government fines and counting, JPMorgan Chase’s chief compliance officer, Cindy Armine, has left that post, according to published reports. She will be replaced, on an interim basis, by Lou Rauchenberger, the current chief administrative officer. Armine stepped into the bank’s top compliance job in January 2013. The former head of global […]
