The Advisory is part of the agency's broader commitment to provide "incentives for companies and individuals to engage in ethical corporate behavior."
On March 6, 2019, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission...more
Disclosure alone is not sufficient; material weaknesses need to be actively remediated.
While the SEC's Financial Reporting and Audit Group has been relatively quiet, it started 2019 with a bang, bringing four coordinated...more
2/20/2019
/ Audits ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Reporting ,
ICFR ,
Internal Controls ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
In 2018, the SEC continued to pursue many of the same initiatives and objectives it articulated in 2017, including emphasizing retail investor protections and keeping pace with technological change. While stand-alone...more
2/5/2019
/ Corporate Culture ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
GAAP ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment Adviser ,
PCAOB ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-X ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
Under the second year of the Trump Administration, the biggest story was the increase of corporate declinations one year after the DOJ adopted a permanent FCPA policy incentivizing self-disclosure, cooperation, and...more
1/16/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Self-Reporting ,
Subsidiaries ,
Trump Administration ,
White Collar Crimes
Chairman Jay Clayton's vision for the Securities and Exchange Commission has largely shaped the first half of 2018, with policies and initiatives focused on the "main street investor" and combating clear cases of outright...more
8/2/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Reporting ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Rules of Professional Conduct ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblowers
The Situation: Despite Equifax's use of a cover story to keep employees from learning it was the victim of a serious data breach, a then-employee allegedly figured it out and made illegal securities trades based on the...more
7/16/2018
/ Blackout Rules ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Equifax ,
Former Employee ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
In Lucia v. SEC, the U.S. Supreme Court made things messy for the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") by vindicating constitutional concerns over the agency's use of administrative law judges. The Court concluded that...more
7/2/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Officers of the United States ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Special Trial Judges (STJs)
The Situation: The SEC accused Altaba Inc., then known as Yahoo! Inc., of misleading investors by failing to disclose a major data breach orchestrated by Russian hackers.
The Result: Altaba has agreed to pay $35 million to...more
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers that whistleblowers must report alleged misconduct to the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to benefit from Dodd-Frank's...more
2/26/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
2017 will most likely be remembered as a year of transition, as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement actions indicate, at least in the near term, an emphasis on specific initiatives and retail investor...more
2/1/2018
/ Annual Reports ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Audit Committee ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
GAAP ,
Internal Reporting ,
Item 303 ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Regulation S-K ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
U.S. tax reform will mean new rules for deducting fines, penalties, and other amounts, including disgorgement, paid to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
Currently, Internal Revenue Code section 162(f)...more
On August 23, 2017, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the insider trading conviction of Matthew Martoma, a former portfolio manager for SAC Capital Advisors LLP ("SAC Capital"). In doing so, the court overturned...more
10/2/2017
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Personal Benefit ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Reaffirmation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
US v Newman ,
US v Salman
Against the backdrop of recent growth of initial coin or token offerings ("ICOs"), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), on July 25, 2017, published its first public statements on this fundraising practice. The...more
On June 5, 2017, in an unanimous ruling in Kokesh v. SEC, No. 16-529, the United States Supreme Court significantly limited the breadth of the Securities and Exchange Commission's primary enforcement tool. The Court held that...more
6/7/2017
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Punitive Damages ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Statute of Limitations
On February 8, 2017, the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") Fraud Section published a blueprint for assessing corporate compliance efforts, titled "Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs" ("Guidance"). It...more
3/2/2017
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Confidential Communications ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Sentencing Guidelines ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Internal Investigations ,
New Guidance ,
OECD ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senior Managers ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
Training