News & Analysis as of

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Auditors Enforcement Actions

DLA Piper

SEC Launches Cross-Border Task Force to Target Fraud Involving Foreign-Based Companies

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What auditors and underwriters should know - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a Cross-Border Task Force to investigate fraud involving foreign-based companies, with a focus on market manipulation...more

Quinn Emanuel

SEC Gets Serious About Cross-Border Fraud: New Task Force Targets Foreign Companies and Gatekeepers

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The SEC just fired a warning shot across international waters. On September 5th, the agency announced the launch of a new Cross-Border Task Force aimed squarely at rooting out fraud by foreign companies—and the professionals...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Balancing Act: Sharing Information From an Internal Investigation Without Waiving Privilege

A whistleblower has triggered a race against time: An internal inquiry, directed by the audit committee and overseen by external counsel, has been launched in response to allegations that revenue was recorded without proper...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

“When you are a hammer, the world is a nail” – SEC and PCAOB Senior Staff Signal Increased SEC and PCAOB Gatekeeper Enforcement

Key Points - SEC Enforcement and PCAOB Enforcement both are pursuing more significant sanctions against auditors, particularly with respect to civil money penalties. Expect 2023 enforcement against auditors to focus...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

SEC Reiterates Auditor Responsibilities in Risk Assessment

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Independent auditors have been placed on notice to tighten internal fraud investigations following an October 11 statement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) chief accountant, which can be found here. This...more

Cooley LLP

Are auditors falling down on the job of detecting fraud?

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Paul Munter, the SEC’s Acting Chief Accountant, seems to think so. In this Statement, Munter expresses his concern that, in conducting audits, auditors are not adequately making use of the “fraud lens”—a focus on the...more

WilmerHale

SEC Brings Charges Against Director and Former Executive Officers for Allegedly Lying to Auditors About Loss Contingencies...

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Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against a company’s director, former CEO and former CFO for allegedly making false and misleading statements to the company’s...more

Thomas Fox - Compliance Evangelist

EY Fined $100 Million

In a stunning announcement, the SEC announced an enforcement action against the international auditing firm EY. The enforcement action could not have been more directly in the ethical wheelhouse, with significant compliance...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

SEC Charges School District, the District’s Former Chief Financial Officer and the District’s Auditor with Violations of Federal...

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On March 16, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) entered an order against a school district (Crosby Independent School District (the “District”), located in a suburb of Houston, Texas) and against the...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Ubiquitous Use of WhatsApp and Other Unrecorded Internal Communications Result in Substantial Penalties in Recent SEC, CFTC...

The SEC has, for many years, used broker-dealer and associated persons’ failure to create and maintain books and records as a basis for the imposition of serious penalties. In recent actions, it appears to be continuing—and...more

Blank Rome LLP

Regulatory Update and Recent SEC Actions - January 2021

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REGULATORY UPDATES - SEC Proposes Conditional Exemption for Finders Assisting Small Businesses with Capital Raising - On October 7, 2020, the Securities Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed a conditional exemption...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

SEC v. RPM International — A Cautionary Case Study on the Limits of Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Protection

While much of the corporate legal world has been focused on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a little-noticed case working its way through the federal courts in Washington, D.C. threatens to whittle down the scope of...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

[Webinar] Anti-Corruption and Compliance Training - May 28th, 10:00 am - 11:30 am EDT

Please join McDermott and Grant Thornton on Thursday, May 28, for a webinar training on anti-corruption and compliance. This training will discuss the auditing standards on illegal acts by clients and the auditor’s...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Avoiding SEC Enforcement with Perk Disclosure Audits by Legal Experts

Compensation committees should hire an independent legal expert to audit private jet and other perk disclosures on a privileged basis. Given the SEC’s increased focus on perk disclosure, companies should evaluate their...more

Blank Rome LLP

Regulatory Update and Recent SEC Actions

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REGULATORY UPDATES - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Proposes Rule Change to Address Auditor Independence - On May 3, 2018, the SEC proposed to amend its auditor independence rule, Rule 2-01 of...more

Vedder Price

Investment Services Regulatory Update - August 2017

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On August 7, 2017, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert providing a summary of the staff’s observations from sweep exams of broker-dealers, investment advisers and funds...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

"Key Takeaways: Corporate Governance Series — Key SEC Financial Reporting, Accounting and Enforcement Matters"

On February 2, 2017, Skadden hosted a webinar titled “Key SEC Financial Reporting, Accounting and Enforcement Matters,” the third installment of our four-part Corporate Governance Series focused on trends in corporate...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Enforcement at the Gates: SEC Action against Big Four Firm and New International Standards Highlight the Role of Accountants as...

In late September 2016, Andrew Ceresney, Director of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), signaled the SEC’s renewed focus on the key role played by audit committee members and external auditors as...more

Cooley LLP

Blog: First SEC Enforcement Actions For Violations Of Auditor Independence Rules Resulting From Personal Relationships

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In two orders made public today, the SEC announced settled charges against EY and individual EY auditors with regard to alleged violations of the auditor independence rules as a result of “close personal relationships” with...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

This Week In Securities Litigation

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The SEC filed its first action against a municipal adviser for breach of fiduciary duty based on a provision amended by Dodd-Frank. The agency also continued to file insider trading actions in an administrative forum....more

Allen Matkins

Ninth Circuit Finds No Reliance On Auditor’s Qualified Opinions

Allen Matkins on

In 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Danny Pang and his two companies for allegedly defrauding investors of hundreds of millions of dollars by misrepresenting investments in the life insurance policies of...more

WilmerHale

SEC Enforcement Chief Highlights Focus on Reporting and Disclosure, Gatekeepers

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Speaking at the Directors Forum in San Diego recently, SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney reviewed the SEC’s historical and current enforcement activity in the area of issuer reporting and disclosure, as well as the...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

"Auditors Must Beware the Consequences of Settling SEC Enforcement Actions"

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched “Operation Broken Gate” in October 2013 to hold accountable those auditors who have intentionally or negligently violated professional auditing or accounting standards....more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

SEC Obtains Admissions in Settlement With Grant Thornton

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The SEC filed its third action in recent weeks in which admissions of fact were required as part of the settlement process. In this instances the firm also admitted its conduct violated the federal securities laws. In the...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

A Compilation of Enforcement and Non-Enforcement Actions

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Non-Enforcement - SEC Decides Against Mounting an Appeal in Koch Ruling - The July 2015 ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court in Koch v. SEC will apparently not be challenged by the SEC. The Court ruled in that...more

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