More Change is on the Way

More change regarding how U.S. public companies disclose details about their risk management programs is on the way. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission is re-evaluating disclosure requirements on the heels of financial regulatory reform. Here is what they had to say.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will act quickly to revise corporate risk disclosure requirements and also consider more sweeping recommendations on executive compensation disclosures and easy-to-read corporate filings, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said Friday. The SEC also is looking at trading activities such as hedging, shorting, arbitrage and certain types of market orders, to ensure that all investors have access to a highly complex and technologically sophisticated trading market, Ms. Schapiro said in the text of prepared remarks.

SEC staffers now are re-evaluating all corporate filing forms and disclosure requirements, asking whether the information that is being sought is "still relevant," Ms. Schapiro said. "After this review, I expect the staff will present individual recommendations that we can act on quickly, such as revising the risk disclosure requirements," Ms. Schapiro said in the text of her speech to the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals.

Companies should be prepared to provide more substantive information regarding their risk programs. Wheelhouse Advisors can help your company with a complimentary risk program diagnostic review. For more information, email us at NavigateSuccessfully@WheelhouseAdvisors.com.

New SEC Ruling Promotes Better ERM Practices

U.S. public companies are now beginning to provide greater disclosure about their Enterprise Risk Management ("ERM") practices due to a new Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") ruling.  As these disclosures emerge, it is becoming apparent that companies are in varying stages of maturity.  In a recent webcast hosted by Marsh, executives from several companies described their experience with the new ruling.  Here is what one of the panelists had to say.

Denise Kuprionis, vice president, secretary and chief ethics and compliance officer for E.W. Scripps Co., a media company, said the new disclosure requirements are good, but they will not be easy for companies to implement.  At her company, she related, evaluating risk involves a wide range of management and requires the management committee that governs risk to both report on perils and give updates. Implementing ERM practices, she said, is not a hindrance to companies taking risk, but serves to encourage management to take a holistic  approach to thinking about risk. “Risk is good and companies have to take risk to be successful,” she noted.

As ERM becomes more widely understood, companies will begin to see how they can utilize it to their competitive advantage.  To learn more about ERM and how Wheelhouse Advisors can help, visit www.WheelhouseAdvisors.com.