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, […]
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Posted inFrom the Archive
$8.7b Tenet Healthcare Names New General Counsel
Urbanowicz Tenet Healthcare recently appointed E. Peter Urbanowicz general counsel, ending a controversial 2003 in which the hospital chain’s CEO, CFO, COO and former general counsel all resigned amid federal probes into Medicare billing and physician recruitment practices. Urbanowicz replaces Christi Sulzbach, who stepped down in September over her role in the alleged corporate misconduct. […]
Posted inInternal Controls
14 Internal Control Disclosures In December 2003
Every month, Compliance Week staffers scour SEC filings for disclosures of material weaknesses or “significant deficiencies” in internal controls. According to regulatory filings, 14 companies disclosed such weaknesses during the month of December, representing a 27 percent increase from the 11 firms who reported the same during November. The previous November survey is available in […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Companies Must Reveal More Data On Pension Plans
In case you missed the announcement right before Christmas, FASB finally issued its new accounting standards requiring greater disclosure about pension and other post-retirement benefits plans. As expected, companies must now provide a breakdown of plan assets by category, such as equity, debt and real estate. A “target allocation” percentage is also required for those […]
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Ex-FTC GC, O’Melveny & Meyers Partner Joins UTC
Valentine Debra Valentine, a partner in the Washington, D.C., law office of O’Melveny & Meyers, was recently named vice president, corporate secretary and associate general counsel for $28 billion United Technologies. Valentine specializes in antitrust and international competition, and is expected to be heavily involved in UTC’s acquisition growth strategy. Valentine’s 13-year tenure at O’Melveny […]
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Former Wyeth Executive Joins Becton Dickinson As GC
Sherman $4.5 billion syringe maker Becton, Dickinson and Co. recently named Jeffrey Sherman as its new vice president and general counsel. Sherman, who most recently served as VP and associate general counsel for $14.6 billion pharmaceutical manufacturer Wyeth, will be responsible for BD’s Law Department, including the Corporate Secretary’s Office and Ethics Office. Prior to […]
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Krispy Kreme Governance Exec Resigns; CFO Named
Randy Casstevens, the chief governance officer and former CFO at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, resigned last week to pursue personal interests, just as the company named Michael Phalen its new CFO. Casstevens had been acting as temporary CFO for nearly a year; his governance responsibilities will be transferred to general counsel Frank Murphy. Phalen, most recently […]
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Manufacturer Known For Pay Program Names Audit Dir.
Battle Lincoln Electric, the 109 year old manufacturer of arc-welding products best known for its employee incentive system, recently named Anthony Battle director of internal audit. Battle, who joined Lincoln last year, previously held audit positions at Owens Corning and TRW, including senior auditor. Earlier in his career, he held audit and accounting positions at […]
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Top Compensation List From 2003
Below is the top compensation list for 2003. The charts include data from disclosures filed with the SEC and processed by eComp Data Services from Jan 1, 2003 through Dec 31, 2003. Data has been broken into four tables: Top Cash Compensation Highest Value of Option Exercises Aggregate Value of FYE Options Largest Restricted Stock […]
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Stock Option Expensing Mandatory Now For Canada
Effective January 1, 2004, the Canadian Accounting Standards Board now requires public companies to expense all stock-based compensation awards including stock options. Cherry The board, known as the “AcSB,” firmly places Canada into the “early adopter” category, although AcSB chair Paul Cherry claims the ultimate goal is to harmonize with global standards. As a result, […]