Search results for: "accounting controls"
More SEC Talk on Cyber, Internal Control
Before this particular bit of news sails downstream, internal control professionals might want to note that an SEC commissioner spoke this week about the importance of internal controls for cybersecurity. She raised a few points worth considering. The remarks came from Caroline Crenshaw, a Democratic appointee to the Securities and Exchange Commission who, in my…
Read MoreThe Deeper Meaning in the Facebook Scandal
This week I’ve kept one semi-interested eye on Frances Haugen, more commonly known as the Facebook whistleblower. Her bombshells launched — the 60 Minutes interview, the testimony before Congress, the leaked documents — were all devastating to Facebook, but compliance professionals should look deeper. Haugen’s arrival on the scene portends something deeper, too. By now…
Read MoreWPP Pays $19M on FCPA: An Analysis
Advertising giant WPP has agreed to pay $19 million to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had poor internal accounting controls in the 2010s, which led to bribery through third parties in India and several other emerging markets. The SEC announced the settlement on Friday. It consisted of $11 million in…
Read MoreFood for Thought From Kraft Heinz
We have a fascinating enforcement action from the Securities and Exchange Commission to study, this time against Kraft Heinz Co., which is paying $62 million to settle charges that it committed accounting fraud with a bogus cost-savings scheme. The case is a glimpse into how strategic imperatives can pressure internal controls — and at least…
Read MoreDeutsche Bank Control Failures Cost $130M
You may have missed this while watching the coup attempt, but Deutsche Bank settled FCPA charges last week with $130 million in penalties and disgorgement, a three-year deferred-prosecution deal, and lessons a-plenty about the perils of leaving internal control duties with operations executives in the First Line of Defense. The settlement was announced Friday afternoon.…
Read MoreSEC Charges Retailer on Impairment Issue
You don’t see this too often: the Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a fashion retailer with failing to impair goodwill in a timely manner, citing weak internal controls over how management determined goodwill and an attempt to mislead the company’s auditors. The company in question is Squential Brands, which sells clothing brands such as…
Read MoreSEC Warning on Insider Stock Sales
Two top officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission warned this week that companies should pay more heed to the policies they use to govern senior executives’ stock sales, to prevent even the appearance of impropriety when an executive is selling shares. The comments came from Bill Hinman, director of the Division of Corporation Finance,…
Read MoreOECD Praises U.S. on FCPA
You know those progress reports the OECD publishes from time to time about the anti-corruption enforcement among countries around the world? Well, the group just published its latest report on the United States and gave the country generally high marks. That should come as no surprise to compliance officers, who have witnessed the U.S. government’s…
Read MoreGoldman Sachs’ Giant FCPA Deal
All right compliance professionals, it’s here: Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle corruption charges for its role in the 1MDB scandal — making Wall Street’s premier investment bank responsible for the largest criminal penalty in FCPA history. U.S. regulators announced the news today, although rumors of a settlement had been swirling…
Read MoreJBS, Internal Controls, and the FCPA
Meat-processing giant JBS has agreed to pay $283.3 million to settle a brazen FCPA bribery scheme, with fascinating lessons for the compliance professional if you can endure the headache-inducing facts of the case. The Justice Department and the Securities & Exchange Commission announced the settlement Wednesday. JBS’ parent company J&F Investments, headquartered in Brazil, pleaded…
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