Welcome, but not surprising news for those who never stopped using it: The ISS name is officially back. Spokesman Gary Hewitt confirmed that the proxy research and voting services firm has indeed gone back to the ISS name following RMG’s acquisition by MSCI, a provider of investment support tools. The deal closed June 1. “We […]
Melissa Klein Aguilar
Posted inFrom the Archive
Few Best Practices on Equity Ownership Plans
Sure, every corporate director, internal auditor, and compliance officer wants to tie senior executives’ pay more closely to performance—and requiring executives to hold stakes in their companies through stock ownership rules is one way to achieve that. But new data shows that Corporate America has few standards for what a stock ownership program should look […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Study Raises Questions on Cooperation and Enforcement
Regulators and enforcement agencies continue as always to preach the mantra that corporations should voluntarily disclose instances of misconduct, but a new study is fueling the constant debate about what rewards corporations really get in exchange for confessing their sins. The study reviewed financial restatements over the course of eight years, and found that the […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Reminder: IRS Employment Tax Audits Underway, Act Now
A friendly reminder for all employers: Act now to prepare for the expected tidal wave of employment tax scrutiny. With the Internal Revenue Service’s Employment Tax National Research Project already underway, companies should be ensuring they are in compliance with the various related tax, executive benefits, and employment law issues that will be under scrutiny, […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
FCPA Research Stirs Debate on Voluntary Disclosure
An academic paper is stirring up fresh debate about whether or not companies get any tangible benefit for confessing their Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations to federal prosecutors. As part of their crackdown on corruption and bribery, Department of Justice officials frequently preach the benefits of voluntary disclosure of FCPA violations. For instance, as previously […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Pay Disclosure and More for Government Contractors
More government contractors will now need to disclose the compensation of their top five executives and the pay of executives at their first-tier subcontractors, as well as certain other details about those subcontracts. Under an interim rule that went into effect last month, government contractors that meet specified levels of federal government contracting, grant, loan […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Goldman Settlement Pins Big Responsibilities on CCO
Corporate America has been buzzing about Goldman Sachs’ recent settlement of fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission for all sorts of reasons. One provision in particular, however, should make compliance executives take notice: the SEC’s insistence that Goldman’s top compliance officer certify the Wall Street bank’s good behavior. That detail is stated three-quarters […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Report Scolds Companies on Option Mega-Grants
Corporate America took advantage of the stock market meltdown 18 months ago to shower executives with new and often larger grants of stock options, which now has led to multiple CEOs sitting on huge “mega-grants” worth tens of millions thanks to the ensuing stock market recovery. A new study from the Corporate Library finds that […]
Posted inUncategorized
Reminder For Employers: Final I-9 Rule Effective Aug. 23
Reminder for employers: Changes take effect this month to the Department of Homeland Security regulation that permits electronic signature and storage of the Form I-9 used to verify employees’ work authorization. The final rule, which takes effect Aug. 23, makes minor changes to a June 2006 interim final rule that allows for the electronic signature […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Ownership Guidelines, Holding Requirement Trends
With executive pay under an increasingly harsh spotlight, more large companies are attempting to link pay with performance by requiring executives to build stakes in their firms through stock ownership guidelines and holding requirements, according to an analysis of Fortune 250 companies by compensation research firm Equilar Inc. Of 237 public Fortune 250 companies, 200 […]
