On June 11, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced its Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (RegFlex Agenda). The RegFlex Agenda sets forth the short-term and long-term regulatory...more
6/21/2021
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation D ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rule 144 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
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
The outbreak of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020 inflicted an unprecedented shock on the global economy. In the first half of the year, growth stalled, the US unemployment rate reached its highest level since the Great...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)
Yesterday, the SEC announced the formation of a Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement. This announcement follows Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee’s earlier statement directing the Division of Corporation...more
With 2021 now upon us, companies, auditors and audit committees are gearing up for another annual reporting season, coming off of one of the more turbulent years in recent history, which included a significant number of...more
1/12/2021
/ AICPA ,
Audit Committee ,
Auditor Independence ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Internal Controls ,
PCAOB ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
S&P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
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
Last week, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board shared additional insights regarding its latest conversations with audit committee chairs – Conversations with Audit Committee Chairs: COVID-19 and the Audit (the...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance released CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 9A and SEC Chief Accountant, Sagar Teotia, issued a Statement on the Continued Importance of High-Quality...more
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to impact the economy, regulators are keeping high-quality financial reporting squarely within their focus. In a public statement last week, Securities and Exchange Commission...more
Last week, amidst the focus on the coronavirus, the Securities and Exchange Commission made progress on its short-term rulemaking agenda by amending the definitions of “accelerated filer” and “large accelerated filer.” The...more
Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an Order granting conditional relief from certain obligations under the federal securities laws for companies facing challenges as a result of the current...more
Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an Order granting conditional regulatory relief from certain filing obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for companies facing challenges in meeting...more
3/5/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 10-Q ,
Form 20-F ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Relief Measures ,
Risk Management ,
Rule 144 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
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)
In support of its commitment to increased transparency, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board recently released Conversations with Audit Committee Chairs: What We Heard & FAQs (the “Summary”), a summary of...more
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
PCAOB Chair William Duhnke provided an update on a number of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board initiatives in his keynote speech at Baruch College’s 14th Annual Audit Conference on December 3. Opening his remarks,...more
Earlier this month, the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) and Audit Analytics released their sixth-annual Audit Committee Transparency Barometer report. Similar to prior years, the groups acknowledge “progress on the...more
On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance announced big changes in the internal structure of its disclosure program. While not a regular occurrence, such reorganizations happen...more
More than two years since the PCAOB adopted the new critical audit matters (CAMs) disclosure requirement, the first batch of CAMs disclosures is finally rolling out with respect to audits of large accelerated filers with...more
Following a 3-2 vote last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission has released two pieces of guidance related to the proxy voting process:
..Commission Guidance Regarding Proxy Voting Responsibilities of Investment...more
Earlier this month, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board released additional resources regarding its new Critical Audit Matters (CAMs) disclosure requirement, with the latest resources targeted to audit committees...more
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Division of Registration and Inspections has recently released a Staff Preview of 2018 Inspection Observations (Preview), based on the PCAOB staff’s inspection of over 160 audit...more
Last week, the Center for Audit Quality released two new resources—an updated Guide to Internal Control over Financial Reporting (ICFR Guide) and a new Tool for Audit Committees: Preparing for the New Credit Losses Standard...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)