Steinberg Technology companies are increasingly looking to industry veterans to help them develop products. On the heels of our coverage last week that COSO Report co-author Malcolm Schwartz had joined one technology company’s advisory board, SOX software provider e-Onehundred Group announced that Neil Jackson had done the same for them. Jackson, who has held senior […]
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Posted inFrom the Archive
Chief Compliance Officers Define Responsibilities
In a 2002 speech to the American Society of Corporate Secretaries, SEC Commissioner Cynthia Glassman called on companies to designate “what I refer to as a ‘corporate responsibility officer’” to oversee compliance systems and procedures. Since then, dozens of companies — from Boeing and Eastman Kodak to Sunoco and Walt Disney — have hired compliance […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Director Nominations: Updates At Marsh And Qwest
At a roundtable discussion last week, corporate executives and shareholder advocates faced off on the topic of how much access shareholders should have in the director nomination process (see box at right for details). And though the Commission still hasn’t decided how it will proceed with its proxy access proposals, the issue is clearly heating […]
Posted inInternal Controls
PCAOB Approves Internal Control Standard
As expected, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has approved its long-awaited standard for audits of internal control over financial reporting. The auditing standard, known officially as “An Audit of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting Performed in Conjunction with an Audit of Financial Statements,” addresses both the work that is required to audit internal control […]
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Joint Issuer-Analyst Guidelines May Not Be
Two associations representing corporate issuers and securities analysts have proposed guidelines to govern their relationship. The Association of Investment Management and Research and the National Investor Relations Institute last week published some obvious corporate “best practices” that NIRI has already advocated, like asking companies not to discriminate among analysts based on prior opinions. However, NIRI […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Job Description: Typical Chief Compliance Officer Responsibilities
Relatively few companies have made the formal designation of chief compliance or governance officer, which makes the job description difficult to codify. It also illustrates how the responsibilities of the CCO are often distributed around the organization, usually between the positions of general counsel and corporate secretary. But according to The Conference Board in its […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Q&A With Jefferson Wells CEO Owen Sullivan
Earlier this month, the SEC extended the compliance date for the internal control provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley. Accelerated filers will now need to comply for their first fiscal year ending on or after Nov. 15, 2004. The original compliance date was June 15. This week, we talk to Jefferson Wells CEO Owen Sullivan — whose firm […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
SEC Eases The Burden Of Foreign Firms Adopting IFRS
An addition to the 8-K amendments adopted last week, the SEC also proposed to “ease the burdens that foreign companies may face” when adopting International Financial Reporting Standards for the first time. The amendments would allow certain companies publishing IFRS statements for the first time to include only two years of audited financial statements in […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Ten New Disclosures And A Four Day Deadline
At an open meeting March 11, The Securities and Exchange Commission voted to adopt additional reporting requirements on Form 8-K. The amendments will add 10 disclosure items to Form 8-K, including the transfer of two items to the current report from the periodic reports. The amendments will also strain global companies by forcing timelier disclosure […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Last Week’s Events Provide Reminder On SEC Probes
Corporate executives, spokespersons and counsel should be aware that the period immediately following an SEC investigation needs be treated as the “No-Spin Zone.” Consider last week’s rollercoaster ride at AGCO Corp., which is a $3.5 billion farm equipment manufacturer. Statement And Retraction On Wednesday, March 10, 2004, AGCO Corp., which had been the subject of […]
