These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention.
Definition of Materiality Depends Who You Ask by Emily Chasan in the Wall Street Journal
As CFO Journal reported on Tuesday, at least half a dozen standard setters, including the accounting rule makers, Securities and Exchange Commission and stock exchanges, have some guidelines on what information must be told to investors and when. Companies want to take a fresh look at “what disclosures are effective and necessary, and what might be obsolete,” said Tom Quaadman, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness.
Companies are increasingly worried that so many different interpretations of materiality are part of the problem, he said.
Here are some of the definitions of materiality from five different regulators: [More…]
Compliance officers are executives and subject matter experts by Michael Scher in The FCPA BLog
Under Compliance 2.0, compliance officers aren’t in-house lawyers. They are not auditors, or human resource people, or project managers, or part of general risk management.
They are the leadership for, and subject matter experts on, all of the elements that make up the company’s compliance program. [More…]
Morrison & Foerster reports SEC Settles Charges that Investment Adviser Failed to Adequately Disclose Changes in Investment Strategy by Kelley A. Howes in the CLS Blue Sky Blog
According to the SEC, the fund originally invested in distressed debt, but in 2008, it began investing a significant portion of the fund’s assets in credit default swaps (CDS). Prior to 2008, the market value of the CDS portfolio never exceeded 2.6% of the fund’s net assets. The SEC found that by the end of the first quarter of 2009, however, the fund’s CDS portfolio grew to 25% of net assets. [More…]
J.P. Morgan Adviser Admits Stealing $22 Million From Clients by Anna Prior in the Wall Street Journal
According to federal prosecutors, Mr. Oppenheim defrauded multiple clients over a seven-year period. He claimed to have invested their money in low-risk municipal bonds and sent doctored account statements purportedly showing profits earned on those investments. However, he was using the clients’ money for his own personal benefit—including to pay for a home loan, bills and, according to his lawyer, gambling—and to pay back other investors. [More…]
Do You Speak Fluent Private Equity? Take the Quiz!
The private equity industry, like every other major industry, has plenty of jargon and industry-specific terminology. How well do you know the jargon and terminology of private equity?
Privcap Academy presents a fun challenge – take this quiz to test your command you have of the language of private equity.
[Take the Quiz!]