Form PF (here) is a reporting form that requires private fund advisers to report regulatory assets under management to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). On February 8, 2024, the SEC and the CFTC announced amendments to the Form PF disclosure requirements (as reflected here and here). In the following guest post, Geoffrey Fehling, Scott Kimpel, and Evan M. Holober of the Hunton Andrews Kurth law firm review the new disclosure requirements and consider the potential liability exposures and possible insurance implications. A version of this article previously was published as a Hunton Andrews Kurth client alert (here). I would like to thank the authors for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the authors’ article.Continue Reading Guest Post: Insurance Implications of SEC and CFTC’s New Form PF Requirements
financial reporting
Thinking About the SEC’s Proposed Climate Change Disclosure Requirements
On March 21, 2022, the SEC, by a 3-1 vote along party lines, approved the issuance of proposed rule changes that, if adopted, would require all registered companies, including foreign issuers, to make specified disclosures related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in their registration statements and in annual SEC filings (such as reports on Form 10-K). As discussed below, the proposed disclosure requirements have already provoked significant commentary. The SEC’s 534-page proposed rule release can be found here. The SEC’s fact sheet about the proposed rules can be found here. The SEC’s March 21, 2022 press release about the proposed rules can be found here.
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Concerns About “Going Concern”
As the pandemic has unfolded, a recession has followed in its wake, as a result of which many companies are struggling. Some will not survive – a number of high profile companies, such as Hertz and Neiman Marcus, have already filed for bankruptcy. Many others have issued financial filings containing a “going concern” disclosure or received an audit opinion with a going concern modification. The government shutdowns and other disruptions that have followed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak have placed an enormous burden on many businesses. The going concern disclosures filed in the year’s first half reveal how many companies are struggling to stay afloat and what might be in store in the months ahead.
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Number of Restatements Continues to Decline
Financial restatements among U.S public companies hit their lowest level in years in 2017, according to the latest annual report from Audit Analytics. The total number of restatements declined in 2017 to a 17-year low and the number of reissuance restatements (those requiring withdrawal and reissuance of previously released financial reports) declined for the eleventh consecutive year. The number of companies restating their financials is at its lowest level since at least 2002. The findings are summarized in a June 7, 2018 Audit Analytics blog post (here). The full report can be found here (subscription or purchase required).
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Gambling Acceptance and Propensity for Financial Misreporting
What factors might indicate a likelihood of financial misreporting? There might be markers in companies’ financial statements, for example, with respect to reserving practices or practices with respect to other estimated items. There may be more general indicators as well, as, for example where companies reliably hit their revenue estimates due to a rush of end of reporting period sales. According to a recent academic study, attitudes in the community where businesses are located may also affect companies’ propensity for financial misreporting.
In a May 30, 2017 paper entitled “Gambling Attitudes and Financial Misreporting” (here), Dale Christensen of the University of Oregon, Keith Jones of the University of Kansas, and David Kenchington of Arizona State University, companies headquartered in areas where residents hold gambling-friendly attitudes are more likely to intentionally misreport financial information. The authors findings were summarized in an August 14, 2017 Wall Street Journal article entitled “A Roll of the Dice on Financial Misreporting” (here).
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Heavy Use of Non-GAAP Financial Metrics Represents an Accounting “Red Flag”
Investors, analysts, D&O insurance underwriters, and others responsible for identifying risks among public companies may want to pay close attention to the ways that companies report their financial results. According to a recent analysis, companies that make heavy use of non-GAAP reporting – such as tailored figures like “adjusted net income” and “adjusted operating income” – are more likely to encounter some kinds of accounting problems, such a restatements, than companies that stick to standard accounting measures. The research, by consulting firm Audit Analytics, is discussed in an August 3, 2016 Wall Street Journal article (here), and in an August 4, 2016 post on the Cooley law firm’s PubCo blog (here).
Continue Reading Heavy Use of Non-GAAP Financial Metrics Represents an Accounting “Red Flag”
Guest Post: The SEC’s Renewed Focus on Financial Reporting and Financial Fraud
While financial fraud has always been an important enforcement target for the SEC, the agency recently has shown increased attention to financial reporting cases. In the following guest post, Robert F. Carangelo, Paul A. Ferrillo and Andrew Cauchi of the Weil Gotshal law firm take a look at the SEC’s recent focus on financial reporting and the particular issues that have drawn the agency’s scrutiny. I would like to thank Rob, Paul and Andrew for their willingness to publish their article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the authors’ guest post.
Continue Reading Guest Post: The SEC’s Renewed Focus on Financial Reporting and Financial Fraud