The SEC charged the former CEO of technology firm Polycom Inc. with spending corporate funds on personal perks that were not disclosed to investors. The SEC alleged that the former CEO created hundreds of false expense reports with bogus business descriptions to disguise his personal use of the company's money to pay for meals, entertainment and gifts. The SEC also charged Polycom separately in an administrative order, finding that the company had inadequate internal controls and failed to report the CEO's perquisites to investors. Polycom agreed to settle the SEC's charges, but the case

In a letter to the Treasury Department, SIFMA commented on an FAQ issued by the IRS that considered whether financial institutions operating in IGA jurisdictions must obtain self-certifications from new individual account holders. In the guidance, also known as FAQ 10, the IRS advised that if a foreign financial institution cannot obtain a self-certification for a new individual account, it may not treat the account as a Reporting Account or open the account at all. SIFMA noted that FAQ 10 conflicts with the guidance published by several jurisdictions with IGAs in place, including the United

The SEC published a notice in the Federal Register that requests comments about the extension of the collection of information from issuers under Regulation Blackout Trade Restriction ("Reg. BTR"). Reg. BTR clarifies the scope and application of Section 306(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Section 306(a)(6) requires an issuer to provide timely notice to its directors and executive officers, and to the SEC, of the imposition of a blackout period that would trigger the statutory trading prohibition of Section 306(a)(1). Section 306(a) prohibits any director or executive officer of an issuer of any

The SEC issued a notice soliciting comments about the extension of information collected in Form 20-F. The notice was published in the Federal Register. Form 20-F is used by foreign private issuers to register securities pursuant to Exchange Act Section 12(b) or (g), or as annual and transitional reports pursuant to Exchange Act Section 13 or 15(d). The information required in the Form 20-F is used by investors in making investment decisions with respect to the securities of such foreign private issuers. Comments must be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget within 30 days of the

The SEC issued a notice soliciting comments about the extension of information collected in Form 40-F, which is used by certain Canadian issuers to register a class of securities pursuant to Exchange Act Section 12(b) or (g), or as an annual report pursuant to Exchange Act Section 13(a) or 15(d). The notice was published in the Federal Register. Comments must be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget within 30 days of the publication of this notice. See: SEC Notice (80 FR 17129).