December 8, 2010
Corp Fin Updates Its Financial Reporting Manual
On Monday, Corp Fin updated its “Financial Reporting Manual” for issues related to income averaging for significance testing, significance testing of equity method investees, reporting when there are both errors and changes in accounting, stock-based compensation in IPOs, internal control over financial reporting, selected financial data, MD&A, as well as other changes (see Topics 1600 and 9500). Corp Fin has been updating this Manual much more frequently than in the past – deciding to do minor tweaks here and there rather than overhauls every five years. Good idea.
Recently, Corp Fin Chief Accountant Wayne Carnall gave this slide presentation about common issues facing smaller issuers.
More on “The SEC’s New PCAOB Appointment Procedures: Time for New Board Members?”
Last month, I blogged about the SEC’s new procedures to appoint board members of the PCAOB – and then I went on to write about the three PCAOB board member openings (including the Chair) that have remained unfilled despite the Supreme Court removing the uncertainty that was hanging over the PCAOB’s head for a few years during the pendency of Free Enterprise Fund v. PCAOB.
In this recent Bloomberg article, it is rumored that former SEC General Counsel Jim Doty and former Corp Fin Director John Huber are among the leading candidates to serve as the next PCAOB Board Chair. This article coincided with this speech by SEC Chair Mary Schapiro at the annual AICPA Conference in which she stated that the SEC is in the final stages of the selection process for all three openings. So I imagine it will be any day now…
By the way, here is a nice speech from PCAOB Acting Chair Dan Goelzer about the PCAOB’s recent accomplishments and upcoming agenda that he delivered at the AICPA Conference yesterday.
More on our “Proxy Season Blog”
With the proxy season gearing up once more, we are posting new items regularly on our “Proxy Season Blog” for TheCorporateCounsel.net members. Members can sign up to get that blog pushed out to them via email whenever there is a new entry by simply inputting their email address on the left side of that blog. Here are some of the latest entries:
– How Disruptive Shareholders at Annual Meetings Can Go to Jail
– Transfer Agents Take Up the Proxy Plumbing Mantle
– Trend: Taking Annual Meeting Questions from the Web
– Study: Review of 460 Annual Shareholder Meetings
– Investment Clubs Get Moxie
– Broc Romanek