False Claims Act Insights - How a Marine Fisheries Dispute Opened an FCA Can of Worms
False Claims Act Insights - If Everything Matters, Nothing Does: Parsing Materiality in FCA Disputes
Podcast: Non-binding Guidance: SEC Disclosure Issues for Life Sciences Companies
Life Sciences Quarterly (Q3 2019): SEC Enforcement and Class Actions Regarding FDA Communications
On July 29, 2025, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed a putative class action asserting claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against a biotechnology company and its...more
Materiality in the context of the federal securities laws has been a topic of repeated focus by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the courts over the years. That attention, however, has not necessarily produced...more
Assessing Materiality: Focusing on the Reasonable Investor When Evaluating Errors - On March 9, 2022, the Office of the Chief Accountant (“OCA”), released a statement regarding assessing the materiality of financial...more
It is no surprise that more and more companies are issuing sustainability reports and broadly disclosing the effects of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. A wide range of stakeholders are demanding this...more
In the accounting profession, the concept of materiality in financial reporting comes from two distinct areas: Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). ...more
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”) Auditing Standards Board issued Statement on Auditing Standards No. 138 and Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 20 to amend the concept of...more
In mid-August, the SEC adopted amendments to its Rule 15c2-12 (the “Rule”), following 18 months of review of comments made to its original proposed amendments. The SEC action will be published in the Federal Register shortly....more
"NEW GAAP" REVENUE RECOGNITION - In 2014, the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued new revenue standards under Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers...more
John Jenkins recently took note of this letter from the SEC’s Office of Investor Advocate commenting on a proposal by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to amend the definition of “materiality” in Concepts Statement No....more
Sarbanes-Oxley revolutionized the auditing profession. Section 404 imposed stringent requirements for disclosure of the state of a company’s internal controls and financial reporting. The company’s independent auditor is...more
As we close the books on the first chapter of our 2016 year, many investors cling to their New Year’s resolutions, hoping to make a material change that catalyzes a happy, healthy, and productive New Year. Yet it is a...more
At Thursday’s meeting of the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee, the Committee approved the submission of a comment letter urging FASB to reconsider its proposal to make changes to the concept of “materiality” embodied in...more
In April, a number of interesting developments occurred that contribute to the momentum on the topic of materiality in sustainability reporting. The common theme is a focus on better defining material environmental, social...more