All Compliance Week articles in Web Issue – Page 845
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Blog
BDO Acquires SS&G
BDO, a professional service organization, announced today that it has acquired accounting and consulting firm SS&G. The acquisition means that BDO has expanded its Midwest presence with the addition of more than 375 staff, including 36 partners, from SS&G. Details inside.
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Blog
EU Securities, Markets Regulator Releases 2014 Enforcement Priorities
Image: Title: MaijoorNov. 5—The European Securities and Markets Authority has released common enforcement priorities for the year, which will be used by both ESMA and national regulators. These priorities include preparation and presentation of consolidated financial statements, financial reporting by entities with joint arrangements, and recognition and measurement of deferred ...
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Blog
EU Banking Union Begins Supervision; New Regulations on Horizon
Image: Title: NouyNov. 5—In a major milestone for the long-anticipated banking union, the European Central Bank has begun its role as the single supervisor for the Eurozone’s banking sector. The ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) will directly oversee 120 of the area’s biggest banks and indirectly oversee more than 3,000 ...
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Blog
FASB Finalizes Rules on Shares With Embedded Derivative Features
The Financial Accounting Standards Board has finished its hedge accounting guidance meant to eliminate the use of different accounting methods when companies raise capital by offering shares that include embedded derivative features. The new guidance will help sort out whether the host contract of a hybrid instrument issued as a ...
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Blog
Higher One Names New Chief Risk Officer
Higher One, a financial services and data analytics provider to colleges and universities, has named Mark Archer as chief risk officer. He will oversee Higher One’s strategy and operational processes for all risk-related activities and will report directly to the newly-formed risk and compliance committee of the board of directors. ...
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Article
SEC’s Disclosure Review Reignites Debate Over Forward-Looking Information
Companies, regulators, and investors have long debated the role of forward-looking information in disclosures, reports, and financial statements. In a new report, the CFA calls on the SEC to a use comprehensive disclosure review to decide what forward-looking information should be required in corporate disclosures and financial reports in particular. ...
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Article
Raising the Bar on Year-Two Conflict Minerals Disclosures
Image: Title: WallerstedtThe first year of conflict minerals disclosures was basically a trial run, with low expectations. Companies are now working on the next round of filings, and the SEC’s expectations for detail will be greater, experts say. The task is to move beyond mere data collection and push compliance ...
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Article
ISS Moving to Score Cards for Equity Plan Evaluations
Institutional Shareholder Services has proposed substantial changes to its voting policies on equity plans for the 2015 proxy season. Rather than assigning a pass or fail grade, ISS plans to implement a scorecard approach that weights various factors. The move addresses complaints that ISS takes a cookie-cutter approach to evaluating ...
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Article
Regulators Are Once Again in Hot Pursuit of Worker Misclassification
Image: Title: HanrahanState and federal agencies are issuing a renewed warning to companies that regularly use independent contractors: classify them correctly, or face big penalties. They are also putting more funds into detection and enforcement, meaning companies are likely to see an increase in audits. “I would expect to see ...
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Blog
Report: Most Countries Lag in Anti-Corruption Enforcement
Image: Title: UgazA recent report from Transparency International finds that only four of 41 OECD member countries—United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland—actively investigate and prosecute companies for bribery and corruption violations, whereas most others do little or no enforcement. “For the anti-bribery convention to achieve a fundamental change in ...
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Blog
DaVita Healthcare to Pay $350 Million for False Claims Act Violations
DaVita Healthcare Partners, a dialysis services provider, agreed last month to pay $350 million to the Department of Justice to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to physicians or physician groups to induce the referral of patients to its dialysis clinics. “This case involved ...
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ArticleAccounting and Audit Suffering a Talent Shortage
With the improving economy and increased regulatory burden, accountants and auditors are in high demand once again, and the resulting labor crunch is pushing up audit costs. To make matters worse, long hours, the threat of litigation, and regulatory pressure are pushing some accountants out of the profession. “Turnover is ...
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Blog
Hyundai, Kia Pay Record $100 Million for Misrepresenting Fuel Efficiency
Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors America agreed this week to pay $100 million—the largest civil penalty ever secured under the Clean Air Act—for making inaccurate representations of their vehicles’ performance and emissions. The auto makers also must implement training and enhanced audit testing of their vehicles to prevent such ...
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Blog
Bank Executives, Boards Urged to Share Cyber-Risk Data
Bank executives and directors are getting another new guidance from the multi-agency Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. The guidance encourages management and boards to ask questions about how accountability is determined for managing cyber-risks; the process for ensuring employee awareness; what is reported to the board on cyber-security events; the ...
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Blog
HSBC Legal, Compliance Costs Surpass $1.6 Billion
Image: Title: GulliverNov. 4—London-based HSBC Holdings has set aside more than $1.6 billion to cover legal costs in connection with regulatory investigations and to make enhancements to its compliance operations. Of that amount, HSBC set aside $378 million to resolve claims with the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority that the bank ...
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Blog
A Turning Point in the Standoff With Proxy Advisers?
Regulators are looking to curtail abuses by proxy advisory firms with new rules that include a mechanism for companies to complain about unfair treatment. While some CEOs and boards, many which have long loathed proxy advisers, may be eager to use these new tools as weapons against them, columnists Stephen ...
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Blog
Study Says CFOs Still Control Audit Fees at Many Companies
Image: Title: MauldinNew academic research suggests the CFO, not the audit committee, still often negotiates the audit fee, despite Sarbanes-Oxley Act provisions meant to put audit committees in the driver’s seat. “At many companies it is still primarily the CFO who calls the shots,” says Elaine Mauldin, professor at the ...
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Blog
Bio-Rad Laboratories Will Pay $55M to Settle FCPA Charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Bio-Rad Laboratories, a life sciences research company, with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when its subsidiaries made improper payments to foreign officials in Russia, Vietnam, and Thailand to win business. The company, which self-reported the misconduct, agreed to pay $55 million to ...
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Blog
More Lessons From Ebola Mistakes
Image: Title: KellyA foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds—and also the sign of reckless policy management. Case in point: the quarantine imposed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie upon Kaci Hickox, the nurse returning from Ebola work in Africa who was not sick. From poor risk assessment to ...
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Blog
LRN and Convercent Announce Partnership
LRN announced today that it will incorporate Convercent's helpline and case management modules into its suite of ethics and compliance education and advisory services.Convercent's helpline and case management software is part of an integrated governance, risk and compliance platform that centralizes anonymous helplines, web portals and in-person reports, allowing organizations ...