Despite the recent House vote that would derail its efforts, the Financial Accounting Standards Board continues to move forward over the contentious issue of accounting for employee stock options. Thus far, the FASB has no intention of changing its December 15 proposed date of when public companies must begin to expense the value of employee-based […]
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Posted inFrom the Archive
Halliburton Is The Latest To Pay For Non-Cooperation
When Halliburton settled charges by the SEC that it changed its accounting method without notice, observers seemed most interested in the $7.5 million fine, or the fact that the dispute stemmed from the days when Vice President Dick Cheney ran the company. Overlooked was the fact that the company wasn’t fined for failure to disclose […]
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Is Cox Trying to Avoid SOX?
Is Cox Enterprises’ plans to buy the shares of Cox Communications that it doesn’t presently own part of a growing trend among companies to go private since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act went into effect more than two years ago? In this case, probably not. Cox Enterprises said it would shell out $32 per share in cash—a […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Private Securities Class Action Cases Down In 2003
According to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the total number of private securities class action cases filed in 2003 was 175, down from 218 the prior year and only 89 percent of the yearly average over the past six years. Though the general trend is down from a high of 245 cases in 1998, the […]
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SEC Unveils Strategic Plan Through 2009
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission unveiled its latest strategic plan, which identifies the Commission’s goals for the next five years. The 58-page plan, which was approved July 9, includes plans to upgrade its technology, recruit more proactively, and improve internal communication. The SEC is required to produce a five-year plan every three years. […]
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SEC Reappoints Gradison To PCAOB
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced last week that it unanimously selected Bill Gradison to serve a five-year term to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Gradison Gradison is considered a “founding” member of the Board, and has been involved in the development of many of the PCAOB’s standards, including Auditing Standard No. 2, “An […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Q&A With VP Internal Audit, Ethics At $1.6b PETCO Animal Supplies
This profile is the latest in a series of weekly conversations with executives at U.S. public companies who are currently involved in establishing and developing compliance programs. An index of previous conversations is available here is available here. So, have any pets yourself? Oh yes. I have two rat terriers; they’re in the terrier dog […]
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. […]
Posted inInternal Controls
36 Internal Control Disclosures In July
SECTION 404 The July Data View The Actual Internal Control Disclosures From July View Sample Disclosures Of Remediation Efforts From July According to a review of regulatory filings during the month of July, 36 companies disclosed material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal controls, or provided material updates on the status of their control-improvement processes. […]
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$21.4b EDS Names EVP, Secretary, General Counsel
Plano, Texas-based IT services company EDS announced that former Sprint EVP and chief staff officer Bruce Hawthorne would take over the duties of EVP, secretary and general counsel from Gil Friedlander, who will return to private practice. Hawthorne Hawthorne will direct EDS’ global legal operations, and will lead the company’s Office of Ethics and Business […]
