SEC Talks AI Enforcement Risk

AI risk

We have more advice this week on artificial intelligence, this time from a top voice at the Securities and Exchange Commission who urged companies to do better at crafting — and implementing — thoughtful policies to govern AI risks. The speech came from Gurbir Grewal, head of the SEC’s Enforcement Division. He gave a speech…

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SEC Launches ‘AI Washing’ Enforcement

AI washing

The Securities and Exchange Commission sanctioned two investment firms Monday for making false statements about how they use artificial intelligence in their business operations — the first enforcement actions we’ve seen under a crackdown on “AI washing” that SEC officials had been promising for several weeks.  The two firms are Global Predictions Inc., an investment…

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A Curious SEC Break on Messaging Offenses

waivers

The Securities and Exchange Commission has fired off another volley of enforcement actions for employees’ improper use of messaging apps — but this time we have a new twist! The SEC has been quietly granting waivers to the offending firms to keep working on deals when normally their conduct would disqualify them from doing so.…

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New Front in Pre-taliation Fights

pre-taliation

The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a new front in the war against pre-taliation clauses in corporate contracts, imposing an $18 million penalty on JP Morgan Securities for including pre-taliation clauses in confidential settlements with customers. The SEC announced the enforcement action on Monday, faulting JPMorgan for asking clients to sign confidential release agreements…

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Another Lesson on Accounting Controls

rbc

Royal Bank of Canada has settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission over poor accounting controls for software development, which might sound super nerdy — because it is, really — but the case also lets us ponder yet again the importance of a strong control environment. The SEC announced the case late last week.…

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Fresh Glimpses Into SEC Enforcement

enforcement

The head of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission has been on a bit of a publicity tour this week, making several speeches about the importance of strong compliance functions, enforcement measures such as monetary penalties and “compliance consultants,” and other issues dear to compliance professionals’ hearts.  Most notably, enforcement chief Gurbir Grewal spoke…

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More on Risk Assessments

risk assessments

Well this is convenient: just days after the chief accountant at the Securities and Exchange Commission urged companies to do better at performing risk assessments, the SEC fined an alternative energy business for accounting improprieties where poor risk assessment played a starring role.  This is useful news for internal audit and corporate accounting teams, because…

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Breaking Down 3M’s FCPA Case

3M

Manufacturing giant 3M Corp. is our latest addition to the annals of FCPA enforcement, agreeing last week to pay $6.5 million to resolve civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that the company’s China subsidiary wined and dined government officials with tourism junkets. By now it’s an old story to compliance professionals: U.S. company…

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Messaging Crackdown Continues

waivers

Securities regulators sanctioned another dozen Wall Street trading houses on Tuesday for employees’ usage of unauthorized messaging systems. They are the latest targets in an ongoing crackdown over the practice, and further proof that management teams need to take this issue seriously. The Securities and Exchange Commission sanctioned 11 firms, imposing a total of $289…

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SEC’s Cyber Disclosure Expectations

enforcement

While we all wait for the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt new rules for cybersecurity disclosures later this week, we should also heed a recent speech from the SEC’s head of enforcement, where he outlined five principles that will guide how the agency thinks about corporate liability for cyber attacks. Enforcement chief Gurbir Grewal…

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