TheCorporateCounsel.net

October 19, 2004

SEC’s ’33 Act Reform Proposal – Ready to Roll!

The SEC is holding an open Commission meeting next Tuesday at 10 am to consider the long-awaited ’33 Act proposal. This is the project that was derailed for a while due to the extensive Sarbanes-Oxley rulemaking that got dumped on Corp Fin.

NYSE’s New Interactive Tool

The NYSE has developed a pretty neat interactive tool that will facilitate the ability of listed companies to comply with their listing standard obligations. Learn more in my interview with Janice O’Neill, who is Vice President, Corporate Compliance at the New York Stock Exchange.

SEC Enforcement Goes After Audit Committee Member

Last week, in the SEC’s enforcement action against Ahold, it is not only notable that the SEC did not seek any fines due to extensive cooperation (the topic of an upcoming interview) – but it is notable that the SEC went after a member of Ahold’s audit committee, Roland Fahlin, for causing violations of the reporting, books and records and internal controls provisions of the securities laws.

Here is a quote from the SEC’s press release: “This case also reflects the failure of a member of the company’s audit committee to perform his duties to oversee the reporting process of a public company,” said James Coffman, Assistant Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “The proceeding initiated against Mr. Fahlin today demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to bring enforcement actions against those board and audit committee members who fail to perform these important duties.”