If Section 404 is requiring more effort than predicted, you’re not alone. Nearly three-quarters of Sarbanes-Oxley project leaders recently acknowledged that they’ve seen an increase in the level of effort required to comply with internal control provisions. That’s according to a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers at a Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Compliance conference last week. According […]
CW Subscriber Only
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Is Nepotism Against The Law? It’s All In The Disclosure
Is it against securities laws to hire your brother and in-laws? RELATED DISCLOSURE Lear Receives Informal SEC Inquiry Southfield, Mich., January 20, 2004 – Lear Corporation [NYSE: LEA] today announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has commenced an informal inquiry into the Company’s September 2002 amendment of its 2001 Form 10-K. The […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Former Bath & Body Works CEO Joins Albertsons Board
Prichard $35.6 billion food and drug retailer Albertsons recently named Beth Pritchard to its board of directors. Pritchard retired in January, 2003, as president and CEO of $1.8 billion Bath & Body Works. Previously, she had served with Schlitz Brewing Company, S.C. Johnson & Son, and, earlier in her career, the Central Intelligence Agency. She […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
New Year’s Resolutions For Independent Directors
The last three years have seen an exponential increase in corporate implosions. The defalcations at Enron, WorldCom, HealthSouth, Ahold, Parmalat and countless other global companies have produced: Stringent new legislation, in the form of Sarbanes-Oxley; A plethora of new rules and regulatory requirements from the SEC, the NYSE and Nasdaq; […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
ISS Details How It Will Vote On Compensation Issues
Institutional Shareholder Services announced last week that it had updated its corporate governance policies to reflect stricter governance standards. According to the Rockville, MD-based company, over 700 institutions use ISS to analyze proxies and make vote recommendations for over 10,000 U.S.-based public companies. However, the company’s governance policy is not widely available. When asked for […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
OECD Issues Draft Corporate Governance Principles
Ahe Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development recently updated and invited comment on its principles of corporate governance. The principles, originally published in 1999, are non-binding guidelines meant to serve as a reference point for policy makers. Johnston The new draft is well-timed, considering recent governance meltdowns at companies overseas, including Italy’s Parmalat and the […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Morgan Stanley Elects One, Nominates Another to Board
Zumwinkel $32.4 billion Morgan Stanley recently announced that Dr. Klaus Zumwinkel, chairman of the board of management of $49 billion Deutsche Post AG, has been elected to its board. Zumwinkel, who has headed Europe’s largest postal provider for over a decade, replaces Edward Brennan, who resigned from Morgan Stanley’s board last year after being named […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
$1.5 Billion May Be Slated For “Fair Funds.” What Is It?
In the few days leading up to Christmas, the SEC was either playing the role of Santa Claus or Scrooge, depending upon your perspective. On Dec. 22 it reached a settlement with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), for its role in Enron’s manipulation of its financial statements. As part of the deal, CIBC […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
$15 Billion Rite Aid Demotes CFO After SEC Probe
After four years with Rite Aid, Christopher Hall has agreed to relinquish his role as CFO as the result of a proposed settlement with the SEC concerning his work at another company. Effective immediately, Hall will serve as senior vice president of real estate and planning. John Standley, the company’s senior executive vice president and […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Boards Logging More Hours, But Most Not Paid More
Nearly two-thirds of corporate boards spent more time fulfilling their fiduciary obligations during the past year. That’s according to a recent survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which blames the added work on Sarbanes-Oxley and more strict governance requirements. Despite the added workload, board compensation increased at only 20 percent of companies. And for those receiving a raise, […]