Compliance

Pharma, former executives charged with misleading financial disclosures

Quebec, Canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals misstated revenue transactions and included erroneous revenue allocations, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. 

By Robert Freedman • Aug. 05, 2020

CFOs urged not to wait on devising LIBOR transition plan

Companies face both legal and reputational risk by failing to deal with contracts using the soon-to-be-obsolete benchmark. 

By Ted Knutson • Aug. 05, 2020

HeadSpin said to be returning $95M after review finds irregularities

The app-testing startup was on pace to have $15 million in annual recurring revenue, not $100 million it had told investors, according to The Information.

By Robert Freedman • Aug. 04, 2020

SEC charges aircraft parts leasing company, CEO with fraud

Integrity Aviation & Leasing raised $14 million from investors, little of which went towards purchasing engines and other aircraft parts for leasing to major airlines as promised, the SEC said.  

By Robert Freedman • Aug. 02, 2020

Audits helped identify embedded leases, survey finds

Companies' first audits since transitioning to ASC 842 lease accounting standards led to control and efficiency improvements.

By Robert Freedman • July 28, 2020

False claims expected to be principal source of Main Street loan enforcement

Companies who act in good faith and can back up their certifications "have little to fear" from federal enforcement, the Department of Justice says.

By Robert Freedman • July 27, 2020

SEC charges tech platform with $18.5M offering fraud

The company presented itself as a thriving startup, but it had little business, and much of its capital raise went to personal uses.  

By Robert Freedman • July 24, 2020

Silicon Valley machine-learning startup charged with fraud

Mountain View-based startup YouPlus claimed it had 100 customers using its video-analysis software, but only had four.

By Robert Freedman • July 21, 2020

Your financial controls probably don't work under today's conditions

With staff remote, executives in survival mode, and hundreds of billions in assistance pouring into the economy, the chances of mistakes and abuse getting past safeguards are heightened, accounting specialists say.

By Robert Freedman • July 14, 2020

New bankruptcy process a 'game-changer' for COVID-hit small businesses

Subsection 5 favors owners keeping their equity through a quicker and cheaper reorganization than exists under regular Chapter 11 rules.

By Robert Freedman • July 13, 2020

'Bonus depreciation' rule fix makes property improvements more attractive

Companies have a new tax incentive to remodel property post-COVID now that qualified improvement property can receive the 15-year recovery treatment, with retroactive relief available. 

By Ed McCarthy • July 12, 2020

Contracting practices in spotlight in DOJ-FTC vertical merger guidelines

The guidelines give federal antitrust regulators a roadmap for determining if a proposed merger would benefit consumers or harm competition.

By Ted Knutson • July 08, 2020

Alexion pharma settles SEC false books charges

Subsidiaries of the company allegedly paid foreign government officials to provide favorable regulatory treatment for, and falsified records about, one of its drugs. 

By Robert Freedman • July 05, 2020

Opinion

How COVID-19 is changing conversations about going concern

CFOs should expect more — and more targeted — questions as auditors try to get a picture of how well their organization is positioned to survive the downturn. 

By Bob Dohrer • June 30, 2020

Companies face higher costs after dismissing auditor's tax services

If the dismissal is only for appearances, it's an expensive move, researchers say.

By Robert Freedman • June 29, 2020

Novartis to pay $112M fine for bad accounting controls

Company subsidiaries used improper payments to boost business in some countries. 

By Robert Freedman • June 26, 2020

Tech firms face tax bite after Supreme Court lets IRS allocation rule stand

Facebook, others were hoping the top court would end an IRS practice that forces more stock compensation to be allocated to foreign subsidiaries. 

By Robert Freedman • June 23, 2020

CFOs can access extra cash in move to new lease accounting rules

FASB is delaying the move to ASC 842 but, if you need money, the transition could provide it in some of the lease terms.   

By Robert Freedman • June 22, 2020

Feds issue streamlined PPP loan forgiveness form

Under an EZ form, you only have to complete a brief calculation and certify your representations to get out of repaying your payroll protection assistance.

By Robert Freedman • June 18, 2020

SEC charges insurer, ex-CFO with bad loss reserves disclosures

AmTrust Financial Services failed to disclose its CFO's deviation from its reserving processes, and changed the company's reserves estimates. 

By Robert Freedman • June 18, 2020

How companies can account for PPP loans under FASB ASC 470

FASB hasn't explained how for-profit businesses should recognize forgivable loans and other government assistance, but other standards are available.

By Robert Freedman • June 15, 2020

Fed set to launch Main Street Lending Program for loans up to $300M

Large and flexible loans will be available as the Fed gets into the business of direct lending to help companies retool as stay-at-home-mandates phase out.

By Robert Freedman • June 09, 2020

Study: Higher-paid consultants recommend higher CEO compensation

Regulators tend to see conflicts in cross-selling by multi-service firms, and new research suggests single-service firms might have conflicts, too.

By Robert Freedman • June 09, 2020

SEC fines insurance company $900K for misstating CEO perks

In proxy statements, Argo Group said it had provided $1.2 million in perquisites and personal benefits to its then CEO, but the amount was $5.3 million, the SEC says. 

By Robert Freedman • June 06, 2020

PPP loans now only require 60% of funds to be used for payroll

The federal government enacted several sought-after changes to make the small loan program more useful to businesses as mandatory closures ease. 

By Robert Freedman • June 05, 2020