Appointment Blogs | Compliance Week – Page 308
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MetLife Makes a Federal Case of its SIFI Designation
MetLife has filed a lawsuit to undo its designation as a non-bank systemically important financial institution by the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Although CEO Steven Kandarian said the company had hoped to avoid litigation, it marks the first time a too-big-to-fail designation has been challenged before a federal judge.
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FASB Jettisons Extraordinary Items From Financial Statements
In its quest to simplify accounting standards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has adopted a new provision in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles that spares companies the requirement to display extraordinary and unusual items in financial statements. FASB said stakeholders had expressed concerns that companies often faced uncertainty over when to ...
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SEC Announces 2015 Examination Priorities
The SEC has released its examination priorities for 2015. The list includes cyber-security controls and assessing anti-money laundering efforts, with a focus on firms that have not filed suspicious activity reports or have incomplete or late filings. SEC staff will also examine proxy advisory service firms, assessing how they make ...
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Omnicom Group Names Controller; Chief Accounting Officer
Omnicom Group, a marketing and communications company, has promoted Peter Swiecicki, currently director of business operations, to controller. The company also appointed Andrew Castellaneta, currently assistant controller, to chief accounting officer. Details inside.
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Painful Lessons Learned From Alstom, Avon Settlements
Two long-standing FCPA investigations—one into Avon, the other into Alstom—wrapped up in December, with results sure to alarm any audit committee. The fines were huge, the investigation costs just as large and, above all, the costs of non-cooperation were demonstrated to be painfully high. Inside, Compliance Week columnist Tom Fox ...
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A Sad Day for Integrity and Ethics
The refrain that corporate leaders need to focus on leadership and culture may sound like old hat, but it bears repeating—especially since, Compliance Week columnist Rick Steinberg notes, even large businesses with ostensibly mature compliance programs keep making the same mistakes. Inside, he examines one particularly bad day for several ...
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White House Unveils New Data Security Efforts
On Monday, President Barack Obama proposed several new initiatives intended to enhance data security and combat identity theft. Among the proposals is legislation requiring companies to notify customers within 30 days when their personal information has been exposed, criminalizing the overseas trade in identities, and preventing certain uses of student ...
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Podcast: Casinos Double Down on Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
Casinos have traditionally had a less-than-stellar track record when it comes to their anti-money laundering efforts. But now, amid increased scrutiny on AML compliance by regulators, the American Gaming Association has released its first-ever AML best practices guidebook. In our latest podcast, we talk to Fred Curry, a principal in ...
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Environmental Tectonics Compliance Chief Departs
Environmental Tectonics, which designs, manufactures, and installs equipment for the aerospace and biomedical industries, announced last week that James Wells will be stepping down as general counsel, corporate secretary, and chief compliance officer. Details inside.
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Responding to Controversy, American Apparel Revisits Code of Conduct
It may not mention ousted CEO Dov Charney by name, but American Apparel's new Code of Conduct may give companies ideas for how to toughen up their sexual harassment policies. The new document, four times longer than the one it replaces, expands upon expectations for employee conduct, requires supervisors to ...
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General Cable Names Chief Compliance Officer
General Cable has appointed Kurt Drake to the newly-created, standalone role of chief compliance officer. He will report to Chief Executive Officer Gregory Kenny. Details inside.
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CFTC Outlines Expectations for New Annual Reports from CCOs
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently shed more light on the new annual reports that compliance officers at swaps dealers must now provide. The CFTC guidance outlines expectations for assessing a firm’s written policies and procedures, including the code of ethics and conflict-of-interest policies. Shortcomings must be explained in detail, ...
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Ousted Infosys Compliance Chief Joins Tata Steel
Image: Tata Steel has appointed Parvatheesam Kanchinadham, the ousted chief risk and compliance officer of Indian software giant Infosys, as company secretary and compliance officer. Kanchinadham, who joined Infosys in 2003, resigned last year after an ethics investigation found that he had made gender-insensitive comments to female employees. Details inside.
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Apricus Biosciences Names Chief Accounting Officer
Apricus Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company, has appointed Catherine Bovenizer to the newly-crated role of vice president of finance and chief accounting officer. She reports directly to Chief Executive Officer Richard Pascoe. Details inside.
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Justice Department Names New Chief of Criminal Division's Fraud Section
Andrew Weissmann today was selected as the Chief of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. Weissmann returns to the Criminal Division after serving as the FBI’s general counsel under former Director Robert Mueller and, most recently, teaching criminal procedure and national security law courses and seminars at NYU School of Law. ...
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FTC Chair Warns of Internet of Things Data Privacy Concerns
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Edith Ramirez took to the floor of the International Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas last week to offer companies a warning about the “Internet of Things” and broadband-connected cars, wearable tech, and home appliances. Connected devices pose significant privacy and security implications, she said, urging ...
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Andrew Weissmann Rejoins DoJ as Chief of Criminal Fraud Section
Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell of the Justice Department announced that Andrew Weissmann has been named chief of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. Weissmann is rejoining the Justice Department, where he previously served as director of the Enron task force.
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U.S. Sentencing Commission Rethinks Securities Fraud Punishments
The U.S. Sentencing Commission is considering changes to how securities-related crimes are punished, potentially imposing less jail time upon defendants in securities fraud cases. A proposal unveiled on Friday detailed a plan to rely on gains obtained by a defendant, rather than the traditional assessment of the losses suffered by ...
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Public Companies Could Win Same Exception Given to Privates on Intangible Assets
FASB is taking a fresh look at a method to account for intangible assets it just permitted for private companies, to see whether the rule should be granted to public companies as well. The new method allows private companies to bypass the current GAAP requirement to recognize separately from goodwill ...
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NIRI Appoints New President
The National Investor Relations Institute this week appointed James Cudahy to be its next president and CEO, effective March 2, 2015. He will succeed Jeffrey Morgan, who resigned in October to become CEO of the Club Managers Association of America. Details inside.