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Here are survey results on preparing for complying with the SEC’s new conflict minerals rules:

1. Who is responsible for conflict minerals compliance:
– Legal department – 45%
– Procurement – 35%
– Finance – 15%
– Other – 13%
– Don’t know – 9%
– Not applicable, we are not an SEC registrant – 1%

2. Do you currently expect that you will be required to file a Form SD:
– No, we do not manufacture or contract to manufacture products – 11%
– No, conflict minerals are not necessary to the functionality or production of our products – 9%
– Yes, but we expect to conclude that all conflict minerals come from scrap, are recycled or originate outside the covered countries – 9%
– Yes, and we expect to rely on “DRC Conflict Undeterminable” – 22%
– Yes, and we expect to include an independent audit report – 5%
– Don’t know – 42%
– Not applicable, we are not an SEC registrant – 2%

3. If you manufacture or contract to manufacture products and conflict minerals are only contained in your packaging, do you anticipate concluding that packaging is necessary to the functionality or production of your products:
– Yes – 7%
– No – 11%
– Don’t know – 28%
– Not applicable – 54%

4. How far along are you in preparing for conflict mineral compliance:
– We’re still in denial – 18%
– We’ve begun to analyze our products, but haven’t begun implementing systems – 67%
– We’ve begun to revise our supply contracts to help comply – 2%
– We are very far along and don’t believe compliance will be a problem – 5%
– Don’t know – 2%
– Not applicable – 5%

Please take a moment to participate in this “Quick Survey on Internal Audit” and this “Quick Survey on Rules of Conduct for Board Meetings & Annual Meetings.”

Conflict Minerals: Latest in the Lawsuit Against SEC’s Rules

This Cooley news brief notes that filings have been made in the lawsuit against the SEC’s conflict minerals rules, most of them procedural. The filings state that SEC has agreed to an expedited briefing schedule, with final briefs to be filed by March 29th. Note that Amnesty International has intervened in the lawsuit to support the SEC…

We now have over 80 memos posted in our “Conflict Minerals” Practice Area including this nifty flowchart.

More on “The Mentor Blog”

I continue to post new items daily on our blog – “The Mentor Blog” – for TheCorporateCounsel.net members. Members can sign up to get that blog pushed out to them via email whenever there is a new entry by simply inputting their email address on the left side of that blog. Here are some of the latest entries:

– Judge Gets Into Online Disclaimers
– Update: Project to Enhance COSO’s Internal Control Framework
– Canada Looks to Bolster Governance of Its Banks
– Bad Grades Are Rising for Auditors
– Second Circuit Eases Aiding and Abetting Standard for SEC

– Broc Romanek