This week, Compliance Week chats with Sam Antar—former CFO of Crazy Eddie’s, the disgraced stereo equipment business that foisted a $70 million fraud on investors in the 1980s. Antar helped mastermind the scheme, and then was a star witness in the trial that sent his cousin Eddie Antar to prison. Today, Sam Antar is an […]
Melissa Klein Aguilar
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Court Eases Sentence Rules For Cooperation
A federal appeals court loosened the sentencing standards last month for criminal defendants who cooperate with government authorities—even if prosecutors don’t ask for leniency when judges dole out a sentence. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, ruling in the case of a woman who cooperated with federal prosecutors in a narcotics probe, […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Major Review Of SOX Compliance This Week
A who’s who of corporate governance will convene in Washington, D.C., this week for a much-anticipated summit meeting on the state of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, as regulators try to gauge how compliance has evolved in the last two years and what further steps they might need to take to make the process more efficient. Billed as […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Numbers Show More Companies Are Listing Overseas
One oft-repeated criticism of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has been that its painful compliance costs are driving companies to go public on other exchanges around the world, where regulatory requirements are fewer. Now, it seems, the numbers might be on the critics’ side. AIM, the London Stock Exchange’s small-cap growth market, has tripled its overseas listings […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
SEC To Help Chinese Counterparts; Big Fee Cuts; More
Leaders of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission have announced plans to increase their cooperation and collaboration through regular contacts among senior staff and between the chairmen of the SEC and CSRC. At a May 2 meeting in Washington, D.C., SEC Chairman Christopher Cox and CSRC Chairman Shang Fulin presented […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Costs Of Civil Settlements Skyrocket In 2005
U.S. companies facing private securities litigation appear to be paying more than ever to settle, according to a new report. While slightly fewer civil suits were filed last year than in 2004, the cost of settling those cases skyrocketed 156 percent, according to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers. Excluding the mammoth Enron and WorldCom settlements, the average […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Cox Talks 404; Effectiveness Orders; More
As public companies wait to see what action, if any, the Securities and Exchange Commission will take on recommendations proposed by its Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox told lawmakers the agency’s preference is to find a way to make the controversial internal controls provisions of Section 404 work rather than […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Europe Ponders Next Governance Goals
The European Commission will hold a public hearing this week to debate priorities for the next phase of a far-reaching plan to overhaul corporate law and governance in the European Union. Formally known as the EU Action Plan on Modernizing Company Law and Enhancing Corporate Governance, the economic blueprint brims with the lofty goals and […]
Posted inInternal Controls
404 Exemption Plan Now In SEC’s Hands
The final report of the closely watched Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies is now in the hands of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which next must determine how to act on the group’s recommendations—including the controversial proposal to exempt small companies from complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. After 13 months, “It’s […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Earnings Guidance Down, But Far From Out
Earnings guidance is proving to be the old soldier of investor relations: It won’t die, but it certainly is fading away. A new survey from the National Institute of Investor Relations shows the recent trend of moving away from quarterly guidance towards annual forecasts continues unabated, with nearly half of all companies offering guidance now […]