Compliance Stuff

It may be important for victims of a disaster to  reconstruct their tax and financial records  to help prove and document their losses so they can get federal assistance or insurance reimbursement. Below are some tips to help people reconstruct important records they may need as they begin to recover and rebuild. Tax records Taxpayers can get free tax return transcripts immediately using  Get Transcript  on IRS.gov. If they don’t have internet access, taxpayers can order transcripts by calling  800-908-9946  and following the prompts. Financial statements People can gather past statements from their credit card company or bank. These records may be available online. If not, people can also contact their bank to get paper copies. Property records Property documents:  Homeowners can get documents related to their property by contacting the title company, escrow company or bank that handled the purchase of their home or other property. Home improvements:...

I was recently asked whether public companies are required, as a technical matter, to have principal accounting officers (PAOs). While PAOs are not strictly required, companies without PAOs should be aware of the result—that the controller will fill that role by default and be considered a Section 16 officer . Certain SEC filings like Form S-3 and Form 10-K require the signature of the company’s PAO or controller. T he PAO is a designation that is often held by a company’s controller or chief financial officer (CFO). Sometimes the PAO designation is held by someone who is not the controller or CFO. But is a PAO technically required? Rule 16a-1 of the Exchange Act is instructive and defines an officer as the “principal accounting officer ( or, if there is no such accounting officer, the controller )” (emphasis added) . Under Rule 16a-1, if a company does not have a PAO, then the controller is deemed to fill that role and is considered a Section 16 officer. It’s possible for the controll...

Hurricane Helene made landfall late in the evening on Thursday, September 26, 2024, as a Category 4 storm. The Hurricane’s “largest impacts were across the southern Appalachians where widespread severe and unprecedented flooding occurred with hundreds of fatalities and billions in property damage.”   https://www.weather.gov/ilm/Helene2024 . For the many businesses engaged in recovery, this client alert provides recommended steps with associated resources. F or individuals and community organizers addressing more immediate survival and wellbeing needs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) makes location-specific information available at their website here:   https://www.disasterassistance.gov/ . North Carolina’s Division of Emergency Management also regularly updates information on FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers, open shelters, unemployment assistance, and other response efforts here:   https://www.ncdps.gov/our-organization/emergency-management/hurricane-helen...

  As ethics and compliance professionals, we work hard to create robust programs. But is this enough in a trade where we seek everyone’s adherence to our values? How do we communicate about what we do? Are we visible to the broader organization? How do we leverage other functions—particularly leaders—to trickle down our message? In this article, we will provide insight and practical tips on how to effectively invest in our communication and thus sell our critical mission to the broader organization to have a lasting cultural impact. Getting your product, brand, and message right Product The first thing to do will be to identify what you are selling. Are you selling compliance, are you selling ethics, are you selling business integrity? There is no right or wrong answer to this, but it is important to identify what works for you and your organization. To help answer this question, we recommend focusing on outcomes rather than processes, as your product needs to bring value to the ta...

  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency tasked with enforcing anti-discrimination laws, has been increasingly active in addressing compliance with regulations affecting pregnant workers. This has been particularly evident in fiscal year 2024, as the EEOC has already filed five cases under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), despite the law being in effect for just over a year. State labor commissions, such as the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division, have likewise seen an increase in charges by pregnant workers. Passed in 2023, the federal PWFA was introduced to combat discrimination and promote workplace equality by requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants with known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Retaliation against such workers is prohibited. Some employers have been caught off guard since pregnancy-related leave, without extenuating medical com...