| 12/29/11 -- SEC Issues Release No. 34-66057 to Extend Comment Period
for Volcker Rule
As discussed in the article entitled "Comment Period for Volcker Rule
Extended in Release No. 34-65545" in the December 28,
2011, issue of Accounting & Compliance Alert,
the SEC and the major federal bank regulatory agencies added a month to
the comment period for a proposal to implement the so-called Volcker Rule
restrictions on bank trading in Release No. 34-66057, Prohibitions
and Restrictions on Proprietary Trading and Certain Interests in, and
Relationships With, Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds.
The extension moves the comment deadline to February 13, 2012, instead
of January 13, which was the deadline when the proposal was
initially floated in October in Release No. 34-65545.
The Dodd-Frank Act requires the regulators to restrict banks from proprietary
trading and the financial ties they can have with hedge funds, private
equity funds, or other investment partnerships that are active traders.
The comment period was extended as part of an effort to allow people
more time to comment, the agencies said.
In a related move, the SEC added a month to the comment period for Release
No. 34-65355, Prohibition against Conflicts of Interest in Certain
Securitizations. As is the case with the Volcker Rule proposal,
the comment period is being extended to February 13 instead
of January 13. The extension was announced in Release
No. 34-66058.
12/27/11 -- SEC Finalizes Mine Safety Disclosure Rule in Release No.
33-9286
As discussed in the article entitled "Release No. 33-9286
Mandates Safety Disclosures from Mining Companies" in the December 23,
2011, issue of Accounting & Compliance Alert,
the SEC issued a final rule in Release No. 33-9286, Mine Safety Disclosure,
to carry out a requirement mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial reform
law.
Mining companies will have to include information about safety and health
in the quarterly and annual reports they file with the SEC. The rule will
become effective 30 days after its publication in the Federal
Register, which normally takes place a few days after a rule is posted
to the SEC's website.
The proposed version of the rule was issued a year ago in Release
No. 33-9164.
The final rule adds Item 104 to Regulation S-K to spell out the disclosure
requirements for 10-Q and 10-K filings, and
amends Regulation S-K Item 601 to add exhibits to 10-K
and 10-Q filings so that companies can submit the information
to the SEC.
12/23/11 -- SEC Accounting Staff Updates Custody Rule Guidance
As discussed in the article entitled "Accounting Staff Updates Custody
Rule Guidance" in the December 20, 2011, issue of Accounting
& Compliance Alert, the SEC's chief accountant updated
the staff guidance on auditor independence.
Most of the changes deal with broker-dealer and investment advisers covered
by Rule 206(4)-2 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940,
also called the custody rule.
On December 14, the SEC said that when an accountant is auditing a broker's
client assets as required by Rule 206(4)-2, the accountant
needs to consider her or his independence from the broker.
The SEC said that Regulation S-X lets accountants perform some non-audit
services as long as the service is unrelated to the custody of client
assets.
12/07/11 -- SEC Shortens Time It Takes to Comment on Public Company
Disclosures
As discussed in the article entitled "Comment Letters Will Be Made Public
in 20 Days" in the December 5, 2011, issue of Accounting & Compliance
Alert, the SEC is shortening the time it takes to release its written
comments on public company disclosures and regulatory filings to 20 days
from 45.
Since May 2005, the agency's staff has been releasing comment letters
and company responses relating to filings reviewed by the divisions of
corporation finance and investment management.
The agency announced December 1, 2011, that beginning in 2012, the letters
will be released within 20 days of the completion of a filing review.
The SEC said it hopes the quicker release of the documents through its
EDGAR system will help improve the quality of information companies release
to investors.
12/01/11 -- SEC Is Scrutinizing Foreign Tax Exposures
As discussed in the article entitled "Foreign Tax Exposures Get Closer
Scrutiny" in the November 28, 2011, issue of Accounting & Compliance
Alert, the mushrooming international sovereign debt crisis could have
many implications for the U.S. economy and multinational companies, and
the SEC is worried about what could happen if some countries hike corporate
tax rates to close budget gaps.
U.S. companies that park a lot of cash overseas to avoid domestic taxes
could get hit with big assessments if the overseas rates rise, and SEC
officials fear that some may not be adequately disclosing the information
in their regulatory filings.
The concern comes as the SEC's division of corporation finance is stepping
up its reviews of companies with large operations overseas and the breakdowns
they report on cash and short-term investments held overseas as opposed
to the amounts in onshore accounts.
"There may be uncertainty in the sustainability of historical income
tax rates in countries where the statutory rates are historically low,"
said Craig Olinger, a deputy chief accountant with the SEC's corporation
finance division during a presentation at a November 15 Financial Executives
International conference in New York.
"If those rates were to change presumably upward, that could have cash
flow and liquidity consequences," Olinger said.
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