From Hugh MacLeod of Gaping Void: “Anyone who has spent a lot of time studying blogs and Web 2.0, will be fully aware of all the blethering hyperbole that comes with it. Every business model that ever came before is DEAD, to be replaced forever by community! YAY! Well, some dinosaur business models may be … Read more »
Warning the Witness
At the Compliance Week 2010 conference, David Seide was nice enough to give me a copy of his new book: Warning the Witness: A Guide to Internal Investigations and the Attorney-Client Privilege. David co-wrote the book with Gary Collins, Managing Director & Director of Compliance at GE Energy Financial Services. Since the DOJ, SEC and … Read more »
Private Equity and the Custody Rule
With the impending removal of the 15 Client Rule exemption from registration with the SEC, I was scratching my head trying to figure how to make the SEC’s new custody rule work for private equity. The SEC recently updated its guidance on custody rule compliance truing to add clarity for advisers to pooled investment vehicles. … Read more »
Ernst & Young’s 11th Global Fraud Survey
Driving ethical growth – new markets, new challenges, the title of Ernst & Young’s 11th Global Fraud Survey, shows fraud is up; audit and legal are stretched to deal with these challenges; compliance is patchy; and Boards need more and better information to manage the risks. They interviewed more than 1,400 chief financial officers, and … Read more »
Private Fund Manager Registration Status
Shearman & Sterling put together a great client publication on private fund manager registration requirements being considered by Congress: Private Fund Manager Registration as U.S. Financial Reform Legislation Approaches the Finish Line. Among the many provisions to be reconciled in the 1,600+ pages of each bill are those that would require private fund managers to … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for June 4
Here are some recent stories that I found interesting: The Auditors And Financial Regulatory Reform: That Dog Don’t Hunt by Francine McKenna in re: The Auditors The firms are broken and their basic product is worthless. The auditors were completely impotent to warn investors of over-leverage and risky business models, to prevent erroneous and potentially … Read more »
Side-by-Side Comparison Chart of Financial Reform Bills
The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, passed by the House on December 11, 2009 is over 1300 pages long. The Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, passed by the Senate on May 20, 2010, is over 1600 pages long. You have lots of reading to figure out the differences between … Read more »
Check out The Checklist Manifesto
As a former transactional attorney, I was trained to use checklists. The transactions were too complicated to keep track of everything in my head. I also needed to communicate with the rest of the transaction team. In The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande approaches checklists from the perspective of a surgeon. I had put off reading … Read more »
Portugal and Ethics Hotlines
Under guidelines published by the Portuguese Data Protection Authority on the 1st October 2009, a whistleblower cannot make a report anonymously. I have to admit that I can’t read Portuguese, so reading Deliberação Nº 765 /2009 does not help me much in interpreting the limitations. (Google translate helps.) Most EU member states allow anonymous reporting … Read more »
SEC’s Mickey Mouse Sting Operation
Maybe this would have worked last year. But traders are probably a little nervous when it comes to buying inside information since the Galleon insider trading case. Hedge funds are now well aware that the SEC and FBI are willing to use a broader range of investigation techniques including wire taps and undercover agents. That’s … Read more »