The SEC charges companies with illegal offering of digital assets and stocks; the Kitchen takes a closer look what is cooking in the securities area.
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Tag: SEC
Regulator Insights & SEC Exam Priorities
In this episode, CSS’s team of CCO experts Korrine Kohm and Dan Haynes discuss regulatory examinations, SEC priorities and trends and insights into how compliance teams can be more proactive before the regulators come knocking.
About Our Guest Speakers:
Korrine Kohm is CSS’s Director of Retail Wealth Manager Services. Prior to CSS, Korrine was the Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Operations at Estabrook Capital Management where she was responsible for all compliance functions of this SEC-registered, $2.1B investment advisory firm. Korrine began her regulatory career while working at Allied Irish Bank (NY) in the Operations Department where she was a key member of AIB’s Compliance Committee, responsible for ensuring compliance with Federal and State regulations. An active member of the National Society of Compliance Professionals for over 10 years, Korrine earned her Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional (IACCPTM ) designation in 2006, is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and obtained her Certified Fraud Examiner designation. In addition to her experience in compliance and banking, Korrine began the 16-week intensive training course in Quantico, Virginia, to become a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She has particular experience in crafting customized policies and procedures, developing and implementing compliance programs, conducting on-site compliance reviews, acquisition due diligence reviews, risk assessments and mock SEC examinations. She routinely councils clients on various regulatory matters, including SEC registration issues, social media and advertising, policies related to diminished financial capacity, disclosures and the annual review process.
Dan Haynes joined CSS in 2017 providing consulting services to investment advisers, registered investment companies and private investment funds. Prior to joining CSS, Dan was the Chief Compliance Officer for Summit Strategies Group. Summit is a large institutional pension consultant in the Midwest with multiple private funds – ultimately around $180 billion in assets under administration. Dan implemented several aspects of, and oversaw the entire compliance program. His time there resulted in experience in NFA/CFTC registration and regulation, Private Fund oversight, and the pension consulting world overall. Prior to Summit, Dan was the Chief Compliance Officer for Buckingham Asset Management and BAM Advisor Services. Dan is also a member of the Charles Schwab Compliance Advisory Board.
In this episode, the Kitchen looks at a recent SEC charge of 8 firms in 3 actions with deficient cybersecurity procedures.
In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:
- FBI failures in Nassar probe. (Houston Chronicle)
- SEC awards 2 whistleblowers $114MM? (WSJ)
- Lawyer arranged hit, on himself. (BBC)
- DOJ alleges fraud in medical analytics. (NPR)
Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. This week Matt and Tom take a deep dive the recent SEC enforcement action involving Kraft Foods. While the subject matter of the enforcement action was fraudulent expense recognition, it turns out the real culprit was a corrupt culture. Some of the issues we consider are:
· What were the underlying facts?
· What does tone at the top really mean?
· How does management cost cutting mantra lead to corruption?
· Why is incentive based comp so deterius?
· What did SEC Commissioner Crenshaw say about this enforcement action?
Resources
Matt in Radical Compliance
Food For Thought From Kraft Foods
In this Episode of the FCPA Compliance Report, I am joined by Professor Karen Woody to look at the current state of the SEC in the Biden Administration. Highlights of this podcast include:
A. SEC-Early Impressions
- SEC debate in the public arena between the commissioners.
- Early impressions of SEC Chair Gensler.
- What are some of the top priorities you have seen so far from the SEC?
- Has new enforcement life been breathed into the SEC?
B. Specific Topics
- Where will SEC enforcement go on SPACs? Will Lordstown Motors be a harbinger or simply just another accounting fraud?
- Non-bribery FCPA enforcement under books and records/internal control provisions. Does Tandy Leather continue this trend?
- What, if any role will SEC have in crypto regulation as a commodity? Or is it a financial instrument of some type?
- What other areas you are watching from the SEC for either guidance or enforcement?
C. Into the Future
- How, if any has the Coronavirus health crisis changed the SEC’s approach?
- When might we see the SEC under Gensler start to hit its stride?
Categories
SEC Whistleblower Award
In this episode, we look at the SEC’s awards to whistleblowers of over $4M and a recent update from the US Customs as they issue a Withhold Release Order on foreign origin products due to forced labor harvesting practices.
Categories
The SEC and ESG with Karen Woody
Tom Fox welcomes Karen Woody, Assistant Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University and “uber SEC watcher”, to this week’s episode of the ESG Report. They have an engaging discussion about how the SEC views its role in advancing ESG, and how ESG can impact potential investment opportunities.
Pushing ESG Forward
The SEC is driving the conversation on ESG disclosures, Karen tells Tom. Their new reporting guidelines on climate risk will be out soon, and they believe there should be more robust reporting in other ESG areas as well. Corporate America should not be surprised, Karen says, as “there’s a very clear link between climate risk and even investor risk and financial risk…” Better reporting will ensure that investors have a better understanding of their investment risk.
ESG Overlap
The Exxon shareholder revolt is a great example of how environmental and governance issues can overlap. This case, Karen remarks, “says a lot about governance and activists and the power you can have with what was a very small sliver of control.” Another area of overlap is between social and governance, especially regarding compensation. “It’s an interesting time to be watching this field because it hits on every aspect of life in some ways,” Karen comments. Investors are increasingly looking at ESG as a material factor in deciding where they want to invest.
Part of the Total Mix
More investors see ESG as part of the total mix when deciding if an investment is sound. Karen believes that the SEC will move towards more robust ESG reporting standards, but these will be qualitative rather than quantitative. They’re also becoming more strict about enforcement, she tells Tom. Tom asks her to contrast the difference in approach toward ESG between the Trump and Biden administrations. She responds that the ESG is more of a priority under Biden and explains how the SEC is helping to further that agenda.
Resources
Karen Woody on LinkedIn | Twitter | Washington and Lee University of Law
Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. This week Matt and Tom take a deep dive into the recent SEC enforcement action regarding the SPAC Stable Road Acquisition Corp. and its acquisition of the space technology company Momentus. Some of the issues we consider are:
- What were the underlying facts?
- Were red flags missed, consciously avoided or outright ignored?
- Where was compliance due diligence?
- Bill Ackerman, Pershing Square Tontine Holdings and the proposed Universal Music acquisition?
- Diamond Acquisition Corp and its acquisition of Lordstown Motors.
Resources
Matt in Radical Compliance
The Second Act of SPAC Enforcement