The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking public comment to help it carry out its Dodd-Frank Act mandated study of whether to allow private plaintiffs the right to bring actions involving transnational securities frauds. In a June decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank, the Supreme Court significantly limited the extraterritorial scope of Section 10(b) […]
Melissa Klein Aguilar
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Proposals Arrive
Let the comments commence: Compliance professionals finally have the details of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed rules to pay whistleblowers who report securities violations. The proposals, detailed in a 181-page release published for comment Nov. 3, implement the Dodd-Frank mandate to set up a program to pay awards of up to 30 percent to […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
U.S. Enforcement of FCPA Draws Scrutiny
U.S. anti-bribery enforcement efforts have come under heightened scrutiny, just as two new laws are expected to launch those efforts into overdrive. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it a crime for U.S. companies and their employees to pay bribes to foreign officials to obtain business abroad, ought to be modified to “make clear […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
The Final Say-on-Pay Votes
It’s time to put proxy disclosure drafting and shareholder outreach efforts into overdrive: the Securities and Exchange Commission’s long-awaited rule proposals requiring shareholder votes on executive compensation and severance packages have arrived. The proposals from the SEC, mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act and out for comment until Nov. 18, are fairly straightforward, experts say. Indeed, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Shop Talk: Wrestling With Dodd-Frank
Risk and compliance executives from every industry are busy bracing their corporations for life under the Dodd-Frank Act—but those hailing from Wall Street and the rest of the financial sector have a whole other level of preparing to do. THE PANELISTS The following executives participated in the Oct. 12 roundtable regarding the challenges brought on […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC Enforces Reg FD on ‘Winks and Nods’
Regulation Fair Disclosure, the rule aimed at preventing private leaks of sensitive information about public companies, has just startled corporate compliance departments yet again. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent enforcement action against Office Depot for a Reg FD violation (its third within the last 14 months) dinged the company’s CEO and CFO for selectively […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Poll: U.S. Companies Not Moving to IFRS Without Mandate
Most companies say they could be ready for a move to International Financial Reporting Standards, but won’t switch until mandated, even if early adoption is allowed, a survey of accounting and financial reporting executives by KPMG and Financial Executives International shows. Among more than 900 FEI and KPMG IFRS Institute members polled, 94 percent say […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
ISS Draft 2011 Proxy Voting Policies Out For Comment
Those involved in proxy voting take note: Here’s your last chance to weigh in on Institutional Shareholder Services’ voting policies for the upcoming proxy season. ISS has opened the annual public comment period on its 2011 draft proxy voting policies to gather input from institutional investors, corporate issuers, and others on its policy updates. The […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Whistleblowers, Naked Access, Swaps on SEC Agenda
Compliance executives should soon get some much-desired clarity about how the new whistleblower bounty program provided for by the Dodd-Frank Act could impact their companies. Proposals related to the whistleblower provisions are among the items on the agenda for a Nov. 3 Securities and Exchange Commission open meeting. The SEC will consider whether to propose rules and forms to […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Corp Fin Director on Dodd-Frank, Pay Rulemaking
Those interested in the governance and pay-related provisions under the Dodd-Frank Act got an update on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s progress and plans for putting those rules in place, courtesy of the head of the agency’s Division of Corporation Finance. With the say-on-pay rulemaking proposals now out for comment, the Commission’s next governance-related Dodd-Frank […]