With a ferocity that has caught almost everyone by surprise—and left executives and boards alike scrambling to double-check their compensation practices—Corporate America has found itself under suspicion for rigging equity compensation to enrich managements at the expense of shareholders. A scandal that started last fall at a few companies has since enveloped dozens more from […]
Melissa Klein Aguilar
Posted inInternal Controls
Small Cos. And 404; Canada Eyes Pay Reform; More
Now that small companies know they’ll have to comply with the internal control provisions outlined in Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley, John White, director of the Division of Corporate Finance at the Securities and Exchange Commission, has called on small companies to focus their energy on providing input for the SEC’s forthcoming guidance on the subject. […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Feds’ Tactics On Legal Bills Draw Scrutiny
Some recent court cases may be indicators that the tide is turning back in favor of the once-common practice of advancing legal fees to employees entangled in government investigations, which had appeared to be under fire by federal prosecutors in recent years. With the decisions, legal experts say, U.S. courts appear to be taking a […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
FWP Invasion Sweeps Into Prospectus World
Six months after the Securities and Exchange Commission rewrote the rules for offering securities for sale, one fact is clear: Kiss the days of the dowdy, rigidly regulated prospectus goodbye. Back in December, in an effort to modernize the offering process, the SEC adopted reforms that, among other things, loosened the rules around what companies […]
Posted inData Privacy
Managing Privacy Compliance As A Public Company
Driven by increased regulatory scrutiny, a spate of headline-grabbing security breaches, and a subsequent flurry of state legislation, privacy issues now sit high on the list of concerns that keep corporate executives awake at night. Bender The amplified focus on privacy issues has companies scrambling to comply with a slew of increasingly complex privacy regulations, […]
Posted inTechnology
SOX Rollback Bill Detailed; SEC And Korea; XBRL
On the heels of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision that all public companies will be subject to the standards of Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley, Congressional lawmakers responded with a legislative bill to make compliance with the internal controls reporting provision voluntary for some companies. Feeney U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Fla., along with 16 co-sponsors, […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Glassman Exits SEC; Roundtable Details; More
After four years at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Republican Commissioner Cynthia Glassman, the longest serving of the SEC’s five current commissioners, announced last week that she will resign at the end of her term next month. Glassman “With my term ending in June 2006, I have decided that it will soon be time for […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Talking Compensation Reform At $88 Billion McKesson
In the latest of our Q&A interviews with governance and compliance executives, we talk to Paul Kirincic, head of human resources at $88 billion McKesson Corp., about reforming equity-based compensation. An index of previous conversations is available here. McKesson made some pretty dramatic changes to its compensation program recently. Tell us about how you revamped […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Compliance Roundtable Paints AS2 As Target
Auditing Standard No. 2, the thicket of regulation tying public companies’ audits of internal controls into Gordian knots, is increasingly emerging as the likely target for any potential reform of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and its painfully expensive Section 404. At last week’s crucial roundtable meeting of regulators, auditors and corporate executives, critics of Sarbanes-Oxley pounded […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Glassman Outlines SOX Reforms; GAO Against Exemptions
Calling on regulators to address the “disconnect” between what corporate managements and auditors do to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley’s notorious Section 404, Securities and Exchange Commissioner Cynthia Glassman—who yesterday announced she would resign from her position—recently outlined four regulatory changes she believes could “get management and auditors on the same page and ensure an appropriate benefit […]
