Last week, The Wall Street Journal ran a Page One story on the new role of the Securities and Exchange Commission: policing the world’s securities market. But the Commission already has so much to track: public companies, the stock exchanges, brokers-dealers, mutual funds, and now hedge funds…not to mention the myriad minutiae of governance, from […]
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Posted inTechnology
META Survey Raises Eyebrows; Questions Over Results
The results of new study by META Group run contrary to other surveys on the topic of compliance budgeting. According to the study, 64 percent of companies have budgets dedicated to financial regulatory compliance, with the average budget projected to be $7.2 million in 2005. However, that information runs counter to two recent and separate […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Q&A With Tyco SVP Governance Eric Pillmore
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. You volunteered for this job—lots of people would guess you’re a glutton for punishment. What was your thinking? Well, it […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
8-K Readiness Begins With Disclosure Controls And Procedures
On August 23, 2004, the number and type of events required to be reported on Form 8-K will expand significantly—as will the amount of attention and effort that public companies must devote to their Form 8-K reporting obligations. To get ready for these new reporting obligations, most public companies will need to make changes to […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
SOX 206 Forces Auditor To Resign From Firm
Accounting firm Grant Thornton resigned as auditor of Peoples Community Bancorp last week after the $38.4 million bank hired one of GT’s managers as CFO. The firm was forced to resign due to independence issues. According to Section 206 of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, an accounting firm cannot conduct the audit of a company […]
Posted inInternal Controls
SEC, PCAOB Staff Comment On SOX 404 FAQs
At a recent teleconference hosted by financial print giant RR Donnelley, SEC Division of Corporation Finance Director Alan Beller and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Member Daniel Goelzer fielded a variety of questions and recommended filers “listen to the music” being played in the FAQs. The session was produced by legal publisher Glasser LegalWorks, which […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
2003 PricewaterhouseCoopers Securities Litigation Study
According to a recent study, the number of securities litigation cases with accounting allegations remains well above historical averages. Settlement values are creeping up, as well.
Posted inFrom the Archive
Corporate Governance and Firm Value: Impact Of The 2002 Governance Rules
A study the effect of recent governance rules on company value, conducted by two Cornell University professors. Found the rule had overall positive effect on company value, expect at smaller companies, “suggesting that the costs of implementing the rules might be larger than their benefits in small firms.”
Posted inFrom the Archive
Restoring Trust After Fraud: Does Corporate Governance Matter?
Study by Michigan State University business school professor David Farber examines the association between the credibility of the financial reporting system and the quality of governance mechanisms.
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Trends in Earnings Management and Informativeness of Earnings Announcements in the Pre- and Post-Sarbanes Oxley Periods
Study by three professors at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business documents management of accounting earnings from 1987 until the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
