SEC Chair Jay Clayton basically told investors “nothing to see here” when five KPMG partners were indicted for unlawfully using prior knowledge of confidential information from their regulator, the PCAOB. Francine McKenna quoted VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow in an article for Marketwatch: Corporate governance expert Nell Minow, the vice chair of ValueEdge Advisors, said…
Tag: accounting
In Stunning Rebuke, GE Shareholders Show Auditor Ratification Is Not Always A Routine Matter – Corporate/Commercial Law – United States
On April 25, shareholders of General Electric Company (GE) approved KPMG LLP as the company’s auditor for another year, but only by a margin of 65 percent “for” to 35 percent “against.” According to data from consulting firm Audit Analytics as reported by The Wall Street Journal, this represents “one of the highest levels of…
Non-GAAP Measures: Questions and Insights
Cindy Fornelli of the Center on Audit Quality writes about perspectives from a series of roundtables with audit committee members, management, investors, securities lawyers, and public company auditors on non-GAAP reporting: If GAAP is the bedrock, why do companies present non-GAAP measures? Participants were asked to share their views on what drives the presentation…
Are Auditors Reliable?
A new report from the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators shows that global accounting watchdogs identified serious problems at 40 per cent of the audits they inspected last year involving companies in “riskier” situations, such as M&A deals. These included conflicts that compromised objectivity, and widespread failures to test the accuracy and reasonableness of…
From ESG to SDGs: An Investor’s Perspective on Sustainability Reporting | Sustainable Brands
Steve Schueth, President and Chief Marketing Officer at First Affirmative Financial Network: I’ve looked at sustainability reports that have been published by large global companies for, let’s say, the past six or seven months. What’s become apparent is that the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] are very much front and center for these large companies. Not…
The Danger Of Not Embracing ESG
According to Rivel Research Group, a firm that specializes in delivering actionable insight based on in-depth measurements of the investment community, ESG has six pillars: enhancement of market and accounting performance; lowering the cost of capital, a means to engage key shareholders; improving business reputation; fostering new revenue growth through product innovation; and aligning company…
Why climate related financial disclosure is no longer an option | Toronto Sustainability | TSSS
Greg Rogers writes: In the world of corporate finance and law, information is “material” (and must be disclosed) if there is a substantial likelihood that a ‘reasonable investor’ would attach importance to it in determining whether to buy or sell a company’s stocks or bonds. There is no bright line rule for what is material,…
Weinstein Scandal Triggers Questions of Corporate Liability and Even Complicity – Variety
VEA vice chair Nell Minow is quoted in an article about potential liability at The Weinstein Company. Nell Minow, a longtime corporate governance expert, said the reports of the settlements, and what executives at Fox and Weinstein Co. knew about them, also raise questions of accounting. Earlier this year, there were reports that federal prosecutors…
VEA Comment to the SEC on Human Capital Disclosures Rulemaking Petition
VEA was proud to support the rulemaking petition at the SEC for better, clearer disclosure of human capital information. This is the comment we have filed. September 27, 2017 Honorable Jay Clayton Chairman U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 110 F Street. N.E. Washington D.C. 20549 Re: Human Capital Management Disclosures Rulemaking Petition …
Sarbanes-Oxley, Bemoaned as a Burden, Is an Investor’s Ally – The New York Times
Gretchen Morgenson writes in the NY Times about efforts to roll back the post-Enron reforms of Sarbanes-Oxley. It is astounding to imagine that the very provisions that restored trust in public companies after the series of accounting frauds of the Enron era are already being described as burdensome and costly.What is burdensome and costly, of…
Lawsuit Challenges Failure to Report Climate Change Risk
A fascinating case brought against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia charges that failure to include climate change risk assessment is a material omission. a. CBA knew, or ought to have known, that CBA’s Climate Change Business Risks might have a material or major impact on the operations, financial position, and prospects for future financial years…
Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
The Financial Stability Board’s industry-led “Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures” has issued its final report with standards and guidance for voluntary climate-related financial risk disclosures in SEC filings. The most significant aspects are the imprimatur of the G20 and the credibility and support it lends to investor initiatives calling for portfolio companies to adopt its…
