Now that the Securities and Exchange Commission has voted to delay the compliance date for Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley for non-accelerated filers, those companies ought to be thinking about what to do with the extra time. At its Sept. 21 open meeting, the SEC voted to postpone for the third time the date by which […]
Melissa Klein Aguilar
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Optimizing Internal Audit In The Post-SOX Era
There’s no doubt that post-Sarbanes-Oxley, the role of internal audit at public companies has changed dramatically. And during the first year of compliance with the onerous Section 404 of the Act, internal auditors played a key role in helping companies meet those requirements. With internal audit expected to continue to play a critical part in […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Director Pay Up, For Now; Fewer Options, Meeting Fees
Three years after Sarbanes-Oxley, director pay is still climbing. That’s according to a number of recent studies, which note that companies are moving toward larger cash retainers and away from meeting fees, and stock options are increasingly being replaced by other forms of equity compensation as a component of director pay. Lilienfeld “Director compensation has […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
PCAOB Chairman McDonough Resigns; No Successor Yet
After a little more than two years on the job, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board chairman William J. McDonough announced that he will resign his position Nov. 30 or when a successor is in place, whichever is sooner. McDonough, former president of the New York Federal Reserve, was tapped by William Donaldson, then-chairman of the […]
Posted inInternal Controls
SEC To Delay SOX 404 For Small Companies
At the Securities and Exchange Commission’s first open meeting since Christopher Cox took the helm as chairman, the Commission voted unanimously to postpone for an additional year the compliance date for filing internal control reports by companies not designated as accelerated filers. As expected, those smaller companies would have an extra year to comply with […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Nestlé Shareholder Survey: Innovative, Or Just For Show?
In what some governance experts have lauded as an innovative move, Swiss food manufacturer Nestlé, as part of a plan to overhaul its outdated statutes, circulated a questionnaire to its shareholders last month, seeking their opinions on five governance features included in the company’s bylaws. The $76.7 billion food company asked for shareowner input on, […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
SEC Issues Q&A On Securities Offering Reform Rules
In response to issuer questions, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance has issued answers to 14 questions related to transition matters under the Securities Offering Reform Rules that will take effect Dec. 1. The reform measures, passed in late June, mark major changes to regulations dating back to the 1930s. The changes, […]
Posted inInternal Controls
SEC To Vote On Changes To Small Company Rules
It’s the moment smaller public companies have been waiting on for months. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it will hold an open meeting tomorrow to consider, among other things, granting an extension to smaller public companies on complying with the internal controls reporting provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley. Late last week, the SEC said it […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
SEC’s Bailey: Audit Committees Need To Take Charge
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s deputy chief accountant issued a reminder to public companies that the responsibility for ensuring auditor independence doesn’t only fall on the shoulders of the auditor—audit committees also need to step up to the plate. Reminding listeners that, “management, the audit committee and the auditors are responsible for independence,” SEC Deputy […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
SEC’s Bailey: Audit Committees Need To Take Charge
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s deputy chief accountant issued a reminder to public companies that the responsibility for ensuring auditor independence doesn’t only fall on the shoulders of the auditor—audit committees also need to step up to the plate. Reminding listeners that, “management, the audit committee and the auditors are responsible for independence,” SEC Deputy […]