This “case study” is the latest in a series of articles aimed at helping public companies understand how other organizations are using technology to comply with new regulations and standards. These are not advertisements or marketing vehicles for the companies mentioned; Compliance Week’s editorial staff speaks with the public company that has deployed the technology, […]
Technology
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Swingvote Takes On Proxy Voting Account Handler ADP
Come January, Swingvote—an Atlanta-based startup—plans to go head to head with ADP Investor Communications Services in the proxy voting service marketplace. Currently, the shareholder services group at $7.4 billion ADP holds a virtual monopoly for the distribution of proxy material. The development may be important to public companies, as it will impact costs associated with […]
Posted inTechnology
Where Are The Comment Letters? Don’t Hold Your Breath
Back in June, the SEC announced that it would make comment letters available to the public. Most of the letters, written by the Commission’s Corporation Finance and Investment Management divisions, provide public companies with comments on their disclosures, specifically noting where the filing could be improved or enhanced. The SEC’s plan was to release comment […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Electronic Records Retention: Getting It Right
The computer’s common use as an essential business tool, and the tremendous and exponentially increasing storage capacity of computer generated or recorded information has transformed the landscape of information retention and destruction. Now record retention regulations are becoming increasingly important to follow, and follow correctly and consistently. Certain regulations in particular illustrate this need, including […]
Posted inTechnology
Electronic Records Retention: Regulatory Overview
Below is a partial list of some of the key laws, regulations and standards that impact companies’ records-retention policies. Employment-Related Records Failure to maintain required employment records can turn baseless employee lawsuits against the company into litigation nightmares: Agencies and courts may choose to find, or instruct juries, that missing records should or may be […]
Posted inTechnology
Outline For Designing Records Retention Policies
Below is an outline that companies may want to consider when designing or reviewing records retention programs. Purpose of Program The primary goal of a records retention program is to effectively manage the information generated and received by the corporation and, thereby, reduce the expense and risk of liability associated with the maintenance of this […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
SEC Proposes Rule On Voluntary XBRL Reporting
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a rule yesterday that would enable public companies to voluntarily file “tagged” financial statements using XBRL for the 2004 year-end reporting season. According to the SEC, the rule was proposed to examine the benefits of tagged data and its potential for improving the timeliness, accuracy and analysis of financial […]
Posted inTechnology
SOX 404 Forcing Bonds Between Financial, IT Departments
When the full scope of the infamous Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act became clear to Kevin Rhodes, he thought it might be a blessing in disguise. Sure, implementing Section 404 would require a formidable investment of time and money for Edgewater Technology, Inc., a $25 million software company in a suburb north of Boston. […]
Posted inTechnology
Digital Archiving Company Acquires eDiscovery Firm
Consolidating its lead in the digital archiving and electronic discovery space, Zantaz recently acquired Steelpoint Technologies, a Boston-based provider of high-end electronic discovery and litigation support solutions. The acquisition brings Zantaz over 100 customers, including several large law firms that use Steelpoint’s litigation support services. The move is also the second acquisition for Zantaz this […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Tagged Data May Help SEC, But Will It Help You?
An SEC announcement in late July, innocuously titled “SEC Announces Initiative to Assess Benefits of Tagged Data in Commission Filings,” eventually could impact financial and legal executives of publicly held companies more than many realize. The term “tagged data” refers to a financial reporting methodology in which individual figures are marked with standard accounting-industry identifiers. […]
