In its 2019 Concept Release on Harmonization of Securities Offerings,1 the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) included a section requesting comment regarding resale exemptions, including Rule 144. While the SEC...more
This Market Trends practice note focuses on recent market trends covering the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) pay ratio rulemaking, which was mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection...more
On November 24, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed for comment amendments to Rule 701 under the Securities Act of 1933, which is the exemption from the registration requirements relied upon most...more
On November 19, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continued its recent efforts to modernize and simplify certain financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K by amending Item 303 of Regulation S-K...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has amended Regulation S-T and the EDGAR Filer Manual to permit the use of electronic signatures for filings on EDGAR that are required to be signed and has made corresponding...more
On November 2, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to adopt amendments proposed in March 2020 that harmonize and modernize the exempt offering framework (referred to as the Amendments). As with...more
Preparations are key to a successful proxy and annual report season, and autumn is not too early to begin. While work on proxy statements, annual reports and annual meetings typically kicks into high gear in the winter,...more
10/1/2020
/ Annual Reports ,
Corporate Governance ,
Critical Audit Matters (CAMs) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
MD&A Statements ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On September 23, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Rule 14a-8 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Rule 14a-8). The SEC initially proposed amendments to Rule 14a-8...more
On August 26, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Regulation S-K that are intended to modernize business, legal proceedings and risk factor disclosures. According to the SEC, the...more
Introduction -
This First Analysis article discusses the amendments (Amended Rules) adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 21, 2020 in connection with financial statement disclosures on...more
On May 21, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments (Amended Rules)1 to financial statement disclosures with respect to business acquisitions and dispositions required by Regulation S-X’s Rule...more
On April 8, 2020, the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) – Jay Clayton – and the Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance – William Hinman – issued a joint statement titled The...more
On March 12, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to the accelerated filer and large accelerated filer definitions in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Rule 12b-2). The...more
On January 30, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provided guidance (MD&A Guidance) regarding the disclosure of key performance indicators and metrics used in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of...more
2/5/2020
/ Corporate Governance ,
Deregulation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Statements ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 20-F ,
MD&A Statements ,
New Guidance ,
Omissions ,
Performance Standards ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On December 18, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rules for the reporting of certain payments by resource extraction issuers (the “proposed rules”). The proposed rules represent the third attempt...more
1/30/2020
/ Compliance Dates ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Foreign Governments ,
Mineral Extraction ,
Natural Resources ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Resource Extraction ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Source of Payments
With the 2020 proxy and annual reporting season upon us, this Legal Update provides 10 tips for companies to consider when drafting annual reports on Form 10-K and proxy statements for filing with the US Securities and...more
1/21/2020
/ Corporate Governance ,
Critical Audit Matters (CAMs) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
EDGAR ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Form 10-K ,
Hedging ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Libor ,
MD&A Statements ,
Median Employee ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Proxy Voting ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Factors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Technology ,
UK Brexit
During the last two weeks of 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission offered guidance and reminders relating to the role of audit committees, international intellectual property and technology risks, and confidential...more
1/8/2020
/ Audit Committee ,
Auditor Independence ,
Audits ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Corporate Governance ,
Critical Audit Matters (CAMs) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Reporting ,
GAAP ,
ICFR ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Libor ,
New Guidance ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tone At The Top
On November 5, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposed several amendments to Rule 14a-8 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The proposed amendments are intended to “recognize the...more
11/13/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Corporate Governance ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Ownership
On October 16, 2019, the Division of Corporation Finance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14K to provide additional guidance on shareholder proposals submitted pursuant to Rule...more
This market trends article discusses the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) pay ratio rulemaking, which was mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (111 P.L. 203, 124 Stat. 1376)...more
On September 26, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission extended the ability to test the waters to all issuers by adopting the highly anticipated new Rule 163B under the Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act)....more
9/30/2019
/ Accredited Investors ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Internal Communications ,
Investors ,
JOBS Act ,
New Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Qualified Institutional Buyers ,
Rule 163B ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On September 6, 2019, the Division of Corporation Finance (Division) of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced1 a significant change to its process with respect to reviewing no-action requests submitted to...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced an increase in the filing fees to be paid by public companies and other issuers during the SEC’s 2020 fiscal year. ...more
8/29/2019
/ Corporate Issuers ,
Filing Fees ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Going-Private Transactions ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Stock Repurchases
With the increased concentration of share ownership by institutional investors over the past several decades, the influence of proxy advisory firms on shareholder votes has grown dramatically, all while the proxy regulatory...more
On August 8, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to Regulation S-K that are intended to modernize business, legal proceedings and risk factor disclosures. According to the SEC, the...more