General Counsel Anne K. Small to Leave SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that General Counsel Anne K. Small will leave the agency later this month. Ms. Small has served as the SEC’s General Counsel since April 2013. As the agency’s chief legal officer, Ms. Small has provided counsel on virtually all of the legal and policy issues before the Commission. This has included providing advice on a record number of enforcement actions, representing and counseling the Commission on high-profile appeals throughout the country on issues ranging from the scope of the anti-fraud provisions to insider trading, advising the Commission on more than 50 significant rulemaking…
Read MoreCompany Settles Charges Over Undisclosed Perks and Improper Use of Non-GAAP Measures
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that New York-based marketing company MDC Partners has agreed to pay a $1.5 million penalty to settle charges that it failed to disclose certain perks enjoyed by its then-CEO and separately violated non-GAAP financial measure disclosure rules. The SEC’s order finds that MDC Partners disclosed an annual $500,000 perquisite allowance for its senior-most executive, but failed to disclose additional personal benefits the company paid on the CEO’s behalf such as private aircraft usage, club memberships, cosmetic surgery, yacht and sports car expenses, jewelry, charitable donations, pet care, and personal travel expenses. The CEO…
Read MoreSEC Deputy Chief of Staff Nathaniel Stankard to Leave Agency
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Nathaniel Stankard, deputy chief of staff for policy, will be leaving the agency. Since being named deputy chief of staff in May 2013, Mr. Stankard has served as a senior advisor to Chair Mary Jo White on a broad range of complex legal and policy matters, including all aspects of rulemakings before the Commission, significant market events, and the agency’s implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. He has also been responsible for coordinating teams from across the agency to implement…
Read MoreGeneral Motors Charged With Accounting Control Failures
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that General Motors has agreed to pay a $1 million penalty to settle charges that deficient internal accounting controls prevented the company from properly assessing the potential impact on its financial statements of a defective ignition switch found in some vehicles. According to the SEC’s order, when loss contingencies such as a potential vehicle recall arise, accounting guidance requires companies like General Motors to assess the likelihood of whether the potential recall will occur, and provide an estimate of the associated loss or range of loss or otherwise provide a statement that such…
Read MoreMedical Device Company Charged With Accounting Failures and FCPA Violations
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Texas-based medical device company Orthofix International has agreed to admit wrongdoing and pay more than $14 million to settle charges that it improperly booked revenue in certain instances and made improper payments to doctors at government-owned hospitals in Brazil in order to increase sales. Four then-executives at Orthofix also agreed to pay penalties to settle cases related to the accounting failures, which according to the SEC’s order involved Orthofix improperly recording certain revenue as soon as a product was shipped despite contingencies requiring certain events to occur in order to receive payment…
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