Last week, the SEC announced the adoption of Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 120 (SAB 120), which provides guidance for companies as to how they should recognize and disclose the cost of providing “spring-loaded” awards to...more
12/10/2021
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fair Value Standard ,
Financial Accounting ,
Incentive Stock Options ,
Internal Controls ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
MD&A Statements ,
New Regulations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Options
On Friday, the SEC approved Nasdaq listing rules related to board diversity. The new Board Diversity Rule establishes diversity objectives for different classes of Nasdaq-listed companies and related disclosure requirements....more
8/10/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
LGBTQ ,
Listing Standards ,
Minorities ,
Nasdaq ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Woman Board Members
SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee recently shared some keynote remarks at the 2021 ESG Disclosure Priorities Event hosted by the American Institute of CPAs & the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants,...more
Across the board, despite the pall cast by the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a year of strong IPO deal flow and aftermarket performance, punctuated by a breathtaking surge in IPOs by special purpose acquisition companies...more
Despite the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 and the ensuing economic dislocation, venture capital financing proceeds, median amount raised, and median pre-money valuation all increased from 2019 levels,...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in recent weeks multiple efforts to highlight climate change in corporate disclosures and to increase scrutiny and, potentially, enforcement focus on company disclosure...more
3/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 10-Q ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On January 20, 2021, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain issued a memorandum ordering a temporary freeze of new or pending rules in order “to ensure that the President’s appointees or designees have the opportunity” to...more
On December 1, 2020, Nasdaq filed a proposal with the SEC to adopt Rules 5605(f) and 5606 regarding board diversity and board composition disclosure, respectively. Nasdaq believes that these new rules, if approved by the SEC,...more
On November 20, 2020, the Staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance, Division of Investment Management, and Division of Trading and Markets issued a statement that it would not recommend enforcement action against...more
The SEC continued its recent run of rulemaking activity with two sets of amendments last week that impact reporting by public companies. On Tuesday, November 17, the SEC announced that it will begin to permit the use of...more
On November 17, 2020, the SEC announced that it will begin to permit the use of electronic signatures for certain filings. To take advantage of the new rule amendments, which become effective upon publication in the Federal...more
Form 8-K requires public companies to make prompt disclosures about a large number of specified events. Although Form 8-K does not mandate current reporting of all material events, it goes a long way toward requiring public...more
The business world has changed a lot in the last three decades, and, as a result of recent amendments to Item 101 of Regulation S-K, the description of a company’s business included in registration statements and periodic...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, companies are experiencing a host of adverse consequences and gaining insight into additional potential risks of the pandemic to their businesses. At the same time, general uncertainty...more
While corporate stock buybacks, as well as dividend payments, are receiving significant scrutiny in the face of the coronavirus pandemic as companies look to preserve cash, the same is not currently true for stock purchases...more
In further recognition of the challenges to conducting business during the COVID-19 pandemic:
..On March 25, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission extended through July 1, 2020, and clarified the conditions for, the...more
April, May and June are typically the most popular months for public companies to host their annual meetings of shareholders. This year, the unprecedented public health concern resulting from the coronavirus or COVID-19...more
3/16/2020
/ Annual Meeting ,
Bylaws ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Virtual Meetings
On January 30, 2020, the SEC issued Commission Guidance on Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. The guidance provides a framework for ensuring that disclosure of key...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently released a Statement highlighting eight areas that audit committees should focus on this reporting season.
Penned by SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, Division of Corporation Finance...more
1/7/2020
/ Audit Committee ,
Audits ,
Best Practices ,
Corporate Governance ,
Critical Audit Matters (CAMs) ,
GAAP ,
ICFR ,
Independent Audits ,
Libor ,
New Guidance ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Among the insights shared at last week’s 2019 AICPA Conference on SEC and PCAOB Developments, held December 9–11, Sagar Teotia, recently appointed Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission, delivered a...more
Always a fertile source of regulatory perspective, this year’s Baruch College Financial Reporting Conference featured a future-oriented theme in remarks by Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission Wesley...more
5/15/2019
/ Accounting Standards ,
Audit Committee ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
FASB ,
Financial Reporting ,
ICFR ,
Independent Audits ,
Internal Controls ,
PCAOB ,
Professional Conferences ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC has approved rule changes that significantly simplify the process for public companies to redact confidential information from the exhibits required to be filed as part of SEC reports and registration statements....more
Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had settled charges against four public companies for failing to maintain internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) over the course of seven...more
Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission released an investigative report regarding its investigation into whether nine public companies that were victims of cyber-related frauds violated federal securities laws by...more
On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had settled enforcement actions against five companies for violating the Regulation S-X requirement that interim financial statements included in quarterly...more