KEY INFORMATION Summary Provides for return of unused filing fees held in filing fee accounts with no activity for 180 days. Effective Date October 21, 2003 Complete Text: Download PDF Version Of The Filing Fee Account Rule Related Resource: Click Here For Instructions for Requesting Unused Money Contacts: Ronnette McDaniel Filings & Info […]
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Posted inFrom the Archive
Defining The Role Of The Chief Governance Officer
Last month, $4.4 billion Pitney Bowes announced that VP and Corporate Secretary Amy Corn would become the firm’s Chief Governance Officer, a title recently minted at several other firms including Sunoco, Eastman Kodak and Tyco. We talked with Corn about the CGO position, its responsibilities, its interactions with the PB board, and its potential challenges. […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Large Companies Following Original SOX 404 Schedule
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers most recent Management Barometer survey, most U.S. multinational companies are moving ahead with preparations for compliance with internal financial control provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, even though implementation of the provisions has been delayed by a year. In addition, more than a third of those firms are are moving faster […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Use Of Pro Forma Numbers Decreasing Among S&P 500
According to a recent study in USA Today, new accounting rules and renewed emphasis on transparency has “all but squashed” the use of pro forma numbers. According to the study, conducted with Thomson First Call, only 28 of the 444 companies in the S&P 500 that reported second-quarter results provided numbers “that subtracted anything other […]
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Frequency, Size Of Restricted Stock Awards Is Up
In light of Microsoft’s recent decision to replace its stock option plans with restricted stock units, the executive compensation specialists at Equilar decided to analyze the prevalence of restricted stock awards among S&P 1500 CEOs. Their findings? The percentage of companies that awarded restricted stock to their CEO increased from 20.2 percent in 2000 to […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Grant Thornton CEO Reacts To GAO Report, Dismisses Barriers To Entry For Smaller Firms
Last week, the GAO’s SOX-mandated study on the accounting industry found that smaller firms faced significant barriers in competing with the “tight oligarchy” of the Big Four. We asked Edward Nusbaum, the CEO of the fifth-largest accounting firm Grant Thornton, for his reaction to the study, its impact on GT, and his thoughts on the […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Washington First State To Defy
The “up-the-ladder” reporting rules have only been effective for one week, and already there are issues. The problem? The rules encourage lawyers to inform regulators if they suspect their clients are committing fraud, but some state bar rules prevent lawyers from revealing client confidences. For example, last week the Washington State Bar published an opinion […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Companies Seek “Subcertifications” From Finance Staff
37 percent of financial professionals that provide information for their firms’ public-company filings with the SEC are asked to sign an affidavit or “subcertification” vouching for the accuracy of that information. Subcertifications are sometimes known as “cascading certifications” or “managerial attestations.” The findings were part of a recent study conducted by the Association for Financial […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Q&A With Corporate Director And CFO Bob Corey
Bob Corey, an 18-year finance veteran who’s been CFO at three public companies and currently serves as Director and Audit Committee Chairman at another, has sat through his share of board meetings. This week, he chats with CW about the importance of timely board communication, and provides tips on a variety of topics, from getting […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Independent Directors See Drop In Pay At Largest Firms
America’s largest public companies are changing how they compensate non-employee, independent directors, and paying a sharply higher premium for Audit Committee Chairmen. Those were the findings of an analysis by The Todd Organization of director compensation practices in 2002 and 2001 at 255 large public companies with revenues of at least $5 billion. At these […]