Electronic discovery has long flummoxed companies in litigation, as they struggle to decide which documents they should save and which ones can be safely destroyed, either in the paper shredder or on a reformatted hard drive. Now a brave new world looms in the form of much-needed changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure—which […]
Melissa Klein Aguilar
Posted inFrom the Archive
Directors May Overestimate ERM Expertise
Recent developments have given corporate directors plenty of reasons to pay attention to enterprise risk management, and many are doing so—but they might not be doing as well as they think, according to new research from the Conference Board. Brancato While many directors believe they have a strong understanding of the risks their companies face, […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Institutional Investors Voice Backdating Ire
Institutional investors are turning up the heat on companies to determine whether their past compensation practices skidded into the murky waters of backdating stock options, even as regulators vow their own scrutiny and still more executives find themselves either under investigation or on the unemployment line. Earlier this month, CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension […]
Posted inInternal Controls
SEC Guidance On 404; Nasdaq Rules; XBRL
The Securities and Exchange Commission expects to solicit views “in the next few weeks” for its guidance on how management should assess the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting, Commissioner Paul Atkins said last week—indicating that the much-anticipated guidance might arrive later rather than sooner. Atkins Atkins made his remarks in a June […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Broker Vote Proposal Reignites Old Debate
A recent call to end the practice of broker-dealers voting in director elections promises to rekindle a long-running debate about the mechanics of proxy voting and shareholder communications practices. As Compliance Week reported last week, a special committee impaneled by the New York Stock Exchange to examine proxy voting issues has published six recommendations, including […]
Posted inTechnology
Building Compliance Efforts With IT Roadmaps
With the heightened focus on corporate governance in general and compliance in particular, companies are weighing more than ever the potential effect of technology on their compliance programs—both to get the job done, and to make the job more complicated. The blueprint to see how technology can help or hinder compliance efforts is a “technology […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
More Hints Emerge On AS2 Changes
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board shared more thoughts last week on how it might amend Auditing Standard No. 2 at a much-touted meeting of its advisory board—where, not surprisingly, opinions differed on the wisdom of revisiting the much-maligned standard. The PCAOB revealed seven possible steps it is considering, mostly to clarify questions such as […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
U.K. On SOX Fears; Public Co. Costs; More
Moving to allay fears that Sarbanes-Oxley regulations could travel overseas if a U.S. business takes over the London Stock Exchange, the head of the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority made it clear that American ownership of a British stock exchange wouldn’t necessarily mean that U.S. regulations will apply to companies listed there. “Neither the FSA nor […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Broker Vote Rule Faulted; Backdating Eyed
A committee created by the New York Stock Exchange last year to examine issues surrounding proxy voting has published a final report with six recommendations, including one that would end the practice of permitting brokers to vote in director elections when their shareholder customers are silent. The report comes 14 months after the creation of […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Legal Victory Shows Limits Of Fraud Charges
A federal judge has dismissed a securities fraud lawsuit against the former chief executive officer of computer manufacturer Gateway, a rare rebuke of the Securities and Exchange Commission that underscores how fraud cases have evolved since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. San Diego District Court Judge Roger Benitez granted summary judgment late last month in favor of […]