Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog

An Autumn Update on Accounting and Auditing Matters

Posted by Ron Pippin on Tue, Sep 17, 2013


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Tags: SEC, Accounting & Tax, Lease Accounting, Audit Standards, Accountants

Two Important Oil & Gas Conferences

Posted by Lorraine O'Donovan on Wed, Sep 11, 2013

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Tags: Business & Legal, Environmental risks, Environmental, Greenhouse Gas, ghg, Oil & Gas

Directors' & Officers' Liability: Delaware's "Entire Fairness" Test

Posted by Jon Elliott on Mon, Sep 09, 2013

Directors and officers owe formal duties to their corporations and shareholders, commonly called “fiduciary duties” from the Latin root words for “trust.”  These duties developed over centuries of common law, and now appear in state corporation codes.  Most interpretations of these duties and how to meet them actually appear in court decisions, arising in cases where aggrieved shareholders sue claiming that a company’s directors and/or officers have breached one or more of these duties.

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, SEC, SOX

New Alberta Energy Regulator to Streamline Regulatory Process

Posted by STP Editorial Team on Wed, Sep 04, 2013

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Tags: Business & Legal, Environmental, Oil & Gas, Canadian

Motor Carrier Registration Systems to be Upgraded and Web-Based

Posted by Jon Elliott on Fri, Aug 30, 2013

Last week the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published major changes in the registration requirements it imposes on “motor carriers” that use roads and highways to transport materials—including hazardous materials.  Over the next two years, these changes will consolidate four separate registration systems into a new web-based Unified Registration System (URS), designed to cover every domestic entity subject to FMCSA authority.  Most elements of the new regulations will take effect on October 23, 2015, to allow FMCSA to develop additional URS features and to conduct several related rulemakings, and to allow regulated entities to prepare for the changes in compliance requirements.

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Tags: Health & Safety, Environmental risks, Environmental, Hazcom, Transportation

Significant New Auditing Standards—Part 2, Tenure/Other Information

Posted by Ron Pippin on Wed, Aug 28, 2013

This is the second of a two-part discussion on the August 13, 2013, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) proposal that would result in two new auditing standards. In the first article, I discussed the proposed concept of “critical audit matters” or CAMs. In this article, I discuss the proposed requirements to disclose how long the auditor has been auditing the company and to provide some assurance on “other information” that a registrant must file in an annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). I conclude this article with some summary thoughts.

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, SEC, Accounting & Tax, Audit Standards, Accountants

Recent OSHA Updates

Posted by Viola Funk on Mon, Aug 26, 2013

OSHA Expands Exemption for Digger Derricks Used in Construction Work

On May 29, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a final rule that revises the regulations for cranes and derricks used in construction. These amendments expand the digger-derrick exemption to include all digger derricks used in construction work subject to 29 CFR1926 subpart V, Power Transmission and Distribution. A digger derrick (also called a radial boom derrick) is a specialized type of equipment designed to install utility poles. This revision removes from coverage under 29 CFR 1926 subpart CC certain types of non-pole digger-derrick work described by Edison Electrical Institute. OSHA also made several minor clarifications to the text of the exemption.

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, OSHA, Employee Rights, Training, EHS

Significant New Auditing Standards—Part 1, Critical Audit Matters

Posted by Ron Pippin on Fri, Aug 23, 2013

On August 13, 2013, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) issued a lengthy, 294-page proposal that would create two new auditing standards and amend several existing rules. If finalized, it will likely increase the work load of auditors. Presumably, the PCAOB proposed these rules, not to “help” the pocketbooks of auditors but rather to provide more useful information to investors. Much of this proposal resulted from feedback the PCAOB received on its June 21, 2011, “concept release” on possible changes to the auditor’s reporting model. The PCAOB has now answered my question from a prior blog article, “Where Is the Regulator of Auditors of Public Companies?"

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, SEC, Accounting & Tax, Audit Standards, Accountants

Obama Issues Executive Order On Chemical Facility Safety

Posted by Jon Elliott on Wed, Aug 21, 2013

One small but critically important sub-category of chemical incidents consists of those that can produce mass casualties, usually when a cloud of toxic or superheated gases are spewed out by a fire or explosion.  Given America’s fragmented approach to hazardous materials regulation, it’s no surprise that separate regulatory programs have grown up to address these concerns—leading inevitably to overlaps and gaps in coverage.

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Health & Safety, OSHA, Environmental risks, Environmental, EHS, EPA, Greenhouse Gas, Hazcom

Free Webinar: GRI G4 Materiality Aligns Sustainability Reporting and Strategy

Posted by Melanie Powers on Mon, Aug 19, 2013

Date: Wednesday, August 28, 2013

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Training, Environmental, Webinar