Terry Carter’s long read also appears in the February 1, 2016 issue of the ABA Journal – “…Last September, the department in effect admitted that it had been wrong all along when it announced a new policy prioritizing prosecution of individuals in corporations who might have engaged in criminal acts, and requiring the companies to… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Securities Law
SEC publishes 2016 priorities for Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations
“This document identifies selected 2016 examination priorities of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE,” “we,” or “our”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”). In general, th priorities reflect certain practices and products that OCIE perceives to present potentially heightened risk to investors and/or the integrity of the U.S. capital markets.… Continue Reading
SEC Issues Annual Staff Reports on Credit Rating Agencies
“The Securities and Exchange Commission issued its two annual staff reports [December 28, 2015] on credit rating agencies registered as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs). The reports show that NRSROs have made operational improvements and have enhanced process accountability, controls and governance, and that smaller NRSROs have made competitive inroads in certain rating categories…The… Continue Reading
Paper – SEC Enforcement Actions Against Broker-Dealers
Posted by Jon Eisenberg, K&L Gates LLP, December 26, 2015 – Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation: “In its 2015 Financial Report, the SEC repeated its view that one of the two principal purposes of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is to ensure that… Continue Reading
Corporate Governance Study 2015
“Over the past decade, the stability of the corporate world has been tested by accounting scandals and the 2008 financial crisis, among other things. These events eroded relations between boards and shareholders, and stressed the need for high corporate governance standards to restore trust. Among shareholders today, corporate governance is considered an integral part of… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – DOD Manufacturing Arsenals, InfoSec, Military Recruiting, SEC Conflict Minerals Program, Wildland Fire Management
DOD Manufacturing Arsenals: Actions Needed to Identify and Sustain Critical Capabilities, GAO-16-86: Published: Nov 17, 2015. Publicly Released: Nov 17, 2015. Information Security: Department of Education and Other Federal Agencies Need to Better Implement Controls, GAO-16-228T: Published: Nov 17, 2015. Publicly Released: Nov 17, 2015. Information Security: Federal Agencies Need to Better Protect Sensitive Data,… Continue Reading
An Exploratory Study of Financial Reporting Structures: A Graph Similarity Approach Using XBRL
Yang, Steve Y. and Liu, Fang-Chun and Zhu, Xiaodi, An Exploratory Study of Financial Reporting Structures: A Graph Similarity Approach Using XBRL (September 8, 2015). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2687275 “Financial reporting information is crucial to both investors and regulators for their decision-making purposes as it reveals corporate financial position and performance over a… Continue Reading
Law on the Market? Evaluating the Securities Market Impact of Supreme Court Decisions
Katz, Daniel Martin and Bommarito, Michael James and Soellinger, Tyler and Chen, James Ming, Law on the Market? Evaluating the Securities Market Impact of Supreme Court Decisions (August 24, 2015). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2649726 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2649726 “Do judicial decisions affect the securities markets in discernible and perhaps predictable ways? In other words, is… Continue Reading
SEC Interpretation of “Whistleblower” Definition
SEC Interpretation of “Whistleblower” Definition Posted by Nicholas S. Goldin, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, on Sunday, October 4, 2015. “On August 4, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an interpretive release to clarify its reading of the whistleblower rules it promulgated in 2011 under Section 21F of the Securities Exchange Act of… Continue Reading
New SEC Rulemaking Database
SEC news release Sept. 24, 2015: “Strong regulations are central to the Commission’s mission. For more than 80 years, we have used rulemaking to establish a comprehensive framework for our securities markets that protects investors, enhances market integrity, and promotes capital formation. The rulemaking process is the means through which the Commission responds to the… Continue Reading
GAO Report – SEC Conflict Minerals Rule
SEC Conflict Minerals Rule: Initial Disclosures Indicate Most Companies Were Unable to Determine the Source of Their Conflict Minerals. GAO-15-561: Published: Aug 18, 2015. Publicly Released: Aug 18, 2015. “According to a generalizable sample GAO reviewed, company disclosures filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the first time in 2014 in response to… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – SEC Conflict Minerals Rule, Unmanned Aerial Systems, U.S. Savings Bonds
SEC Conflict Minerals Rule: Initial Disclosures Indicate Most Companies Were Unable to Determine the Source of Their Conflict Minerals, GAO-15-561: Published: Aug 18, 2015. Publicly Released: Aug 18, 2015. Unmanned Aerial Systems: FAA Continues Progress toward Integration into the National Airspace, GAO-15-610: Published: Jul 16, 2015. Publicly Released: Aug 17, 2015. U.S. Savings Bonds: Future… Continue Reading
