Public Company Advisory: SEC Snapshots - Fourth Quarter 2024

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The members of Maynard Nexsen’s Public Company Advisory Practice counsel public companies and companies aiming to become public on the full range of matters shaping their governance and operation in the public markets. As a continued service to our clients, we provide a quarterly summary of important developments affecting public companies. Top trending items for the fourth quarter of 2024 are listed below (in chronological order and with embedded links to the source materials):

• The SEC approved a proposed Nasdaq rule change that addresses compliance with the minimum price requirements following a reverse stock split (October 7, 2024)
• The AICPA Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) published a report on the role of the auditor: assessing and responding to fraud risk (October 7, 2024)
• PwC published its annual corporate directors survey (October 9, 2024)
• The SEC posted a notice and request for comment for a proposed NYSE rule change that would limit the use of reverse stock splits to regain compliance with the price criteria (October 10, 2024)
• Deloitte and the USC Marshall School of Business published a study of risk factor disclosures addressing artificial intelligence (AI) (October 15, 2024)
• The SEC settled charges against four companies for making materially misleading disclosures regarding cybersecurity risks and intrusions (October 22, 2024)
• BDO published its annual board survey (October 22, 2024) (free registration required)
• Nasdaq released its annual global governance survey report (October 29, 2024) (free registration required)
• The SEC approved a Nasdaq proposed rule amendment addressing reverse stock splits (November 1, 2024)
• The PCAOB issued a report about auditors’ responsibilities for detecting, evaluating and communicating illegal acts (November 3, 2024)
• FASB published an Accounting Standards Update that will require publicly-traded companies to provide more detail about expenses reported on their income statement (November 4, 2024)
• Glass Lewis published its 2025 proxy voting policy guidelines (November 14, 2024)
• Deloitte published a study on SEC comment letter considerations (November 15, 2024)
• The IFRS Foundation published a guide to identifying and disclosing material information about sustainability-related risks and opportunities (November 19, 2024)
• The SEC announced that Chair Gary Gensler will step down from the Commission effective January 20, 2025 (November 21, 2024)
• The PCAOB adopted a set of new requirements regarding public reporting of standardized firm and engagement metrics (November 21, 2024)
• The PCAOB adopted a set of amendments regarding the PCAOB framework for collecting information from audit firms (November 21, 2024)
• The SEC issued a report on enforcement activities in fiscal year 2024 (November 22, 2024)
• The California Air Resources Board (CARB) issued an enforcement notice addressing California Senate Bill 253 (December 5, 2024),
• The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated Nasdaq’s board diversity rule (December 11, 2024)
• Nasdaq published proposed rule changes addressing listing standards for initial public offerings (December 12, 2024)
• The SEC adopted an updated EDGAR Filer Manual (December 16, 2024)
• CARB issued an Information Solicitation for comments on California Senate Bills 253 and 261, as amended by SB 219 (December 16, 2024)
• FTI Consulting published its activism vulnerability report (December 18, 2024)
• Blackrock published its stewardship principles and voting guidelines for 2025 (December 26, 2024)
• The Fifth Circuit reinstated a nationwide injunction blocking enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (December 27, 2024)
• KPMG published an updated handbook on climate risk in the financial statements (December 31, 2024)

For additional information about any of the above developments, or to discuss any questions that you may have, please contact a member of Maynard Nexsen’s Public Company Advisory Group.

This Client Alert is for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The information in this Client Alert is not intended to create and does not create an attorney-client relationship.