Each year in our Annual Memo series, White & Case's Public Company Advisory Group provides practical insights on preparing Annual Reports on Form 10-Ks, Annual Meeting Proxy Statements and, for FPIs, the Annual Report on Form...more
With the 2025 annual reporting season upon us, public companies should consider potential updates to their risk factors for their Form 10-Ks and 20-Fs in light of recent economic, political, technological, and regulatory...more
1/16/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 20-F ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector
On November 22, 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its enforcement results for fiscal year ("FY") 2024 (October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024).1 While the next administration's approach to...more
Notwithstanding recent reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has quietly disbanded its Climate and ESG Task Force,1 and while the SEC’s new climate-related disclosure rules remain stayed,2 the SEC’s...more
Over the past few months, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") has issued several warnings to companies to ensure accurate disclosure of the role and risks of artificial intelligence ("AI") in their businesses....more
On April 4, 2024, less than one month after their adoption, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has chosen to stay its newly adopted climate disclosure rules, pending judicial review (the "Final Rules"). The...more
On March 6, 2024, in a 3 to 2 vote of the Commissioners, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") adopted rules that will require public companies to disclose extensive climate change-related information in their...more
While there are news reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") is on the verge of issuing new climate related disclosure rules for public companies, the SEC's Director of the Division of Enforcement...more
Each year in our Annual Memo, White & Case's Public Company Advisory Group provides practical insights on preparing Annual Reports on Form 10-Ks, Annual Meeting Proxy Statements and, for FPIs, the Annual Report on Form 20-F....more
1/8/2024
/ Annual Meeting ,
Annual Reports ,
Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Form 10-K ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Resetting expectations -
It was clear in the opening months of 2022 that the winds had changed for the global IPO market as compared to the prior year, a rocky path that continued throughout the year and into the first...more
4/28/2023
/ Asia Pacific ,
Capital Markets ,
Economic Growth ,
EMEA ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Global Market ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Stock Markets ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
Following a brief decline during the pandemic, shareholder activism in the US rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 despite—or perhaps because of—volatile markets, depressed share prices and macro-economic uncertainty....more
Part I of our two-part Annual Memo series identified important considerations when preparing Annual Reports on Form 10-K in 2023. Part II of this memo below, describes our key considerations for 2023 Annual Meeting Proxy...more
Buyers are scrutinizing everything from an acquisition target’s projected greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to ways in which a deal may impact their own climate mitigation strategies. In this regard, reliable and verifiable...more
Although the record-breaking deal activity of 2021 spilled over into 2022, headwinds in the first quarter developed into a significant slowdown during the rest of 2022, with an expectation of continued slowness as we enter...more
1/30/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Buyers ,
Capital Markets ,
CFIUS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Domestic Dealmaking ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Private Equity ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Real Estate Market ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sellers ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Technology
This memorandum outlines key considerations from White & Case's Public Company Advisory Group for foreign private issuers ("FPIs") during the 2023 annual reporting season....more
1/19/2023
/ Annual Reports ,
Confidential Information ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Form 20-F ,
IFRS ,
MD&A Statements ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Risk Factors ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Ukraine ,
XBRL Filing Requirements
Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass Lewis & Co. LLC ("Glass Lewis"), the two major proxy advisory firms, recently issued their updated proxy voting guidelines for the 2023 proxy season. These policy updates...more
12/22/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Overboarding ,
Popular ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
The Annual Report season will soon be upon us, and it is important to assess a company's risk factors at the outset and whether recent developments, including those relating to macroeconomic, geopolitical, and public health...more
11/1/2022
/ Annual Reports ,
Capital Markets ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Global Economy ,
Human Capital ,
Interest Rates ,
Investors ,
Market Conditions ,
Military Conflict ,
Price Inflation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Factors ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Supply Chain ,
Ukraine ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
A look at three key regulatory developments in the EU and US - proposed EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence and Reporting Directives and US SEC Climate Change Disclosure Rules...more
7/15/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
CSDR ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
The regulatory landscape for ESG disclosure by U.S. public companies faces potentially dramatic changes, with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") proposing rules that would mandate comprehensive climate change...more
On May 25, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") proposed two form and rule amendments seeking to enhance and standardize disclosures related to environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors...more
This memorandum outlines key considerations for U.S. public companies in preparation for the 2022 annual reporting and proxy season.
▪️ Part I of this memo, which was published in January 2022, describes key...more
2/21/2022
/ Annual Reports ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Form 10-K ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders
This memorandum outlines key considerations from White & Case's Public Company Advisory Group for foreign private issuers ("FPIs") during the 2022 annual reporting season.
This memo describes our key considerations for...more
2/2/2022
/ Balance Sheets ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Statements ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Form 20-F ,
GAAP ,
Libor ,
MD&A Statements ,
New Guidance ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Factors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
This is Part I of a two-part series outlining key considerations from White & Case's Public Company Advisory Group for US public companies during the 2022 annual reporting and proxy season.
Part I of this memo describes...more
1/12/2022
/ Annual Reports ,
Audits ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Equity ,
Form 10-K ,
Human Capital ,
Libor ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Proxy Season ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supply Chain
In the past few weeks, both major proxy advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass Lewis & Co. LLC ("Glass Lewis"), have issued their updated proxy voting guidelines for the 2022 proxy season. These...more
12/16/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
On November 3, 2021, Corp Fin issued new guidance which signals a major shift in the SEC’s approach to no-action requests to exclude shareholder proposals relating to environmental and social ("E&S") matters. Previously, the...more
11/5/2021
/ Business Exclusion ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Micromanagement ,
No-Action Relief ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Sustainability