The SEC has announced settled charges against Express, Inc., a multi-brand American fashion retailer formerly listed on the NYSE, for failing to disclose over a three-year period almost $1 million in perks provided to its now...more
(This post updates my post of December 12 to add further discussion of the decision.) -
In August 2021, the SEC approved a Nasdaq proposal for new listing rules regarding board diversity and disclosure, accompanied by a...more
The SEC has just announced the departure of Corp Fin Director Erik Gerding at the end of this year. On his departure, Cicely LaMothe, the current Corp Fin Deputy Director, Disclosure Operations, will serve as Acting...more
In August 2021, the SEC approved a Nasdaq proposal for new listing rules regarding board diversity and disclosure, accompanied by a proposal to provide free access to a board recruiting service. The new listing rules adopted...more
After the alarming murder of an insurance company CEO last week, questions about protection and security for CEOs and other executives are suddenly high on the agenda for boards of directors. A big concern: will there be...more
Last week, the SEC announced settled charges against United Parcel Service Inc. for failing to take an appropriate goodwill impairment charge for a poorly performing business unit, thus materially misrepresenting its...more
In this settled action, In the Matter of Elanco Animal Health, Inc., Elanco, a manufacturer and seller of animal health products, such as flea and tick medications, was charged with “failure to disclose material information...more
Currently, companies typically include in their income statements expense captions for selling, general and administrative expenses, cost of services and other cost of revenues, and cost of tangible goods sold. But, as...more
Given the impending change in Administration in D.C.—and all that portends for regulation—the States may, in many ways, take on much larger significance. Case in point: California’s climate disclosure laws and the ongoing...more
In this fraught election season and just before tomorrow’s important election day, the Center for Political Accountability has released its annual study, The 2024 CPA-Zicklin Index of Corporate Political Disclosure and...more
On Tuesday, the SEC announced settled charges against four companies for “making materially misleading disclosures regarding cybersecurity risks and intrusions. The charges against the companies, Unisys Corp., Avaya Holdings...more
Are you ever surprised that more companies don’t fail their say-on-pay votes? Say on pay was adopted by the SEC under a Dodd-Frank mandate signed into law against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis. The mandate was...more
“Conflict Minerals—Peace and Security in Democratic Republic of the Congo Have Not Improved with SEC Disclosure Rule.” That is the title of the final required report of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the last of...more
Last week, the SEC announced settled charges against James R. Craigie, a former CEO, Chair and board member of Church & Dwight Co. Inc., an NYSE-listed “manufacturer of consumer-packaged goods,” for “violating proxy...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law Senate Bill 219, a bill that tweaks some of the requirements of California’s climate disclosure bills, SB 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, and SB 261,...more
In September last year, the SEC proposed changes to the EDGAR system designed primarily to enhance EDGAR security, specifically related to EDGAR filer access and account management. (See this PubCo post.) While the SEC has...more
In case it escaped your notice a few months back—as it did mine—Bloomberg is now reporting that the SEC has “quietly disbanded” its Enforcement Division’s Climate and ESG Task Force. You remember the task force? Back in...more
In 2023, when California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills related to climate disclosure—Senate Bill 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, and SB 261, Greenhouse gases: climate-related financial...more
As soon as the SEC adopted final rules “to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures by public companies and in public offerings” in March, there was a deluge of litigation—even though, in the final rules, the SEC...more
You might recall that, in 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills related to climate disclosure: Senate Bill 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, and SB261, Greenhouse gases:...more
In this Comment from a Reuters magazine, the author attempts to rescue the underlying environmental, social and governance principles from the often disparaged term, “ESG.” ESG, he observes, was “[o]riginally conceived as a...more
As reported by Bloomberglaw.com, during an interview in February on “Balance of Power” on Bloomberg Television, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said that he does not intend to “rush” the SEC’s agenda “to get ahead of possible...more
In this June Order, SEC Enforcement brought settled charges against R.R. Donnelley & Sons, a “global provider of business communications services and marketing solutions,” for control failures: more specifically, a failure to...more
As you probably recall, in March 6, the SEC adopted final rules “to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures by public companies and in public offerings.” (See this PubCo post, this PubCo post, this PubCo post, and...more
As you know, the Nasdaq board diversity disclosure requirements might be in jeopardy at the moment, as we await the decision of the en banc Fifth Circuit following oral argument in Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment and...more