As anti-bribery enforcement goes increasingly global, some companies are opting to ban facilitation payments entirely to avoid the tricky compliance issues they pose. A survey conducted by TRACE International shows some companies are prohibiting facilitation payments—colloquially known also known as “grease payments”—which are given to induce foreign officials to perform routine functions they’re already obligated […]
Melissa Klein Aguilar
Posted inTechnology
Report: Few Prepared for e-Discovery
Demands for electronically stored information are increasing, but most companies are still coping with those requests on a case-by-case basis, costing them time and money and putting them at risk for sanctions and fines. So says a new study from Kroll Ontrack, which found that less than half of companies surveyed had a readiness strategy […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Survey: Companies Bracing for Litigation Wave
Companies are bracing for a litigation wave in the coming year, according to a survey of 408 corporate counsels. According to Fulbright & Jaworksi’s Annual Litigation Trends Survey Report, 83 percent of U.S. respondents said new litigation has been commenced against their companies in the past year, and 42 percent anticipate an increase in legal […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC-CFTC Report, Recommendations Arrive
It’s here: the joint report by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission recommending ways to harmonize regulation of futures and securities The 96-page report comes in response to a June white paper issued by the White House calling for the agencies to recommend legislative and regulatory actions to address key […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
SEC Proposes Changes, Guidance on E-Proxy Rules
The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed changes to its proxy rules aimed at improving the notice-and-access model for furnishing proxy materials to shareholders, allowing more flexibility regarding the format of the Notice sent to shareholders and giving guidance on the Notice requirements. The SEC is also proposing a new rule that will permit issuers […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Report Shows CIC Changes Afoot at Large Cos.
Activists take note: Some of the largest U.S. companies are making changes in their change-in-control arrangements in response to corporate governance reform pressures. That’s according to analysis of the 125 largest companies from the 2009 Fortune 500 list by compensation consulting firm Frederic W. Cook & Co. Eighty-eight of the 125 companies (70 percent of […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
8-K Filings on the Decline
—by Jaclyn Jaeger. E-mail Jaclyn at jjaeger@complianceweek.com. Despite an apparent bulge in disclosures following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s overhaul of 8-K filings five years ago, the number of filings has since receded. As Compliance Week previously reported, the SEC overhauled its rules for 8-K disclosures in August 2004, expanding the list of “material events” […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Study: Most Cos. Lagging on ESI Discovery Readiness
Despite the fact that most say the need to produce electronically stored information has increased in the past year, the majority of companies are still coping with those discovery requests on a one-off basis. In a survey of IT and in-house counsel commissioned by Kroll Ontrack, 63 percent of U.S. and 54 percent of U.K. […]
Posted inUncategorized
SOX 404 Delayed Again for Small Cos.
Well, now you can etch it in stone somewhere: Non-accelerated filers must start providing auditor attestations of their internal controls over financial reporting, as required by Section 404(b) of Sarbanes-Oxley—but some filers will have one last deadline extension into 2010. The Securities and Exchange Commission gave that final word Oct. 2, when it also published […]
Posted inUncategorized
IASB Steps Up Calls for SEC to Adopt IFRS
The head of the International Accounting Standards Board is calling on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to make up its mind about adopting International Financial Reporting Standards and to play a greater role in converging world accounting systems into a single, strong set of rules. Sir David Tweedie, chairman of IASB, speaking to reporters […]
