Regulatory News

3.17.2008	CFO
Proposed restatement guidelines draw investor alarm Investor advocates say they are wary of proposed changes to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's materiality guidance on which companies rely to calculate an error's effect on financial statements. The advocates say the regulatory proposal could decrease the number of times companies restate their financial results, reducing transparency.
3.13.2008	Metro New York
New York City Council replaces one e-waste bill with two New York City Council recently recalled e-waste legislation passed in February and replaced it with two new bills. One piece of legislation includes components regarding electronics manufacturer take-back and recycling, while the second bill includes mandatory e-waste collection standards that aroused veto talk by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
3.13.2008	Coos Bay World
States steadily close public access to information A new Associated Press analysis of state laws found that state legislatures have passed more than 1,000 laws changing public access to government information since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. States passed more than twice as many measures that restrict information as laws that open government books, the report said.
3.3.2008	Government Technology
Health information technology executives work together on security A new survey commissioned by the Health Information Trust Alliance indicates that more than half of respondents say they are frustrated that there are no standardized practices for complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The survey reported that 96% of health information technology executives think it is important to have a uniform way for verifying the security of sensitive healthcare information.
3.1.2008	CRM Buyer
Going to extremes to protect banking customer data A current need for increased data security in banking is attributed to a pivotal moment in 1999 when the U.S. government passed the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, bankers say. That law requires financial institutions to implement an information security program that ensures the integrity, security and confidentiality of customer information, experts note.
2.27.2008	PC World
Are healthcare organizations under cyber-attack? As healthcare organizations increasingly worry about security incidents, the prospect of a surprise audit from the U.S. government agency in charge of overseeing Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) security and privacy rules has arisen. HIPAA has helped toward getting the health information community to perform audit, secure messaging and encryption, experts say.
2.16.2008	New York Daily News
Bloomberg slams 'totally illegal' electronic waste bill, vows veto New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed not only to veto a new e-waste bill passed by New York City Council that would mandate electronics collection and recycling through manufacturer take-back measures, but promised not to enforce it if it becomes law.
2.14.2008	New York Times
New York City Council approves bill requiring residents to recycle electronics New York City is a step closer to adopting one of the toughest electronics recycling laws in the U.S. after the New York City Council overwhelmingly approved a bill that would impose a $100 fine on anyone who throws an old computer or other electronic gadget into the trash. Recycling e-waste will become mandatory under the law, with manufacturers required to take back their products at the end of the lifecycle.
2.12.2008	Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal
Can you prove you're ready for your next audit? When businesses face internal or external IT compliance audits, lack of information and absence of a plan lead to fear and uncertainty in all levels of the organization, industry experts contend. To achieve a higher degree of security and be prepared to pass regulatory audits, organizations should focus the majority of the IT budget on security rather than compliance, experts note.
1.31.2008	Network World
On the right side of the law As the compliance landscape becomes more complicated with regulation and legislation like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and the Markets in Financial Instruments directive, industry experts recommend that CIOs should procure IT to manage the compliance burden in ways that can also provide long-lasting benefits to business.
1.31.2008	SC Magazine
Effective regulatory compliance and security management The best way to meet regulatory compliance with security processes is to adopt IT governance frameworks that cover a significant percentage of regulatory compliance mandates, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Federal Information Security Management Act, experts say.
1.30.2008	CIO
Regulatory compliance and risks of undetected malware With the emergence of regulatory laws borne out of experience from a variety of embarrassing security breaches, experts note that modern corporate leaders face possible fines and jail time when found not in compliance with regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
1.21.2008	Press of Atlantic City
State residents approve of New Jersey e-waste recycling law New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed a recycling bill into law that requires computer and television manufacturers to set up e-waste recycling plans by January 2009 and start paying an annual $5,000 registration fee to sell electronic products in the state.
1.17.2008	Government Health IT
CMS to check hospitals for HIPAA security compliance The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced plans to conduct on-site reviews of as many as 20 hospitals during the next nine months to determine if they are in compliance with security rules mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
1.14.2008	SC Magazine
Five years and counting: A SarbOx data security reality check Analysts recognizing Sarbanes-Oxley five years later are asking whether the regulation has made IT infrastructures and sensitive corporate data more secure. Some say recent news media coverage and market studies indicate that more work needs to be done, especially to secure the SarbOx-centric internal data networks, as incidents of identity theft and other cyber crimes rise.
1.5.2008	Southwest News Herald
It’s time to recycle more electronics waste Illinois State Sen. Susan Garrett has proposed model legislation that would ban e-waste from state landfills and require electronics manufacturers to take responsibility for recovering and recycling equipment. The proposal also would reward manufacturers that set up recycling programs in counties where there are few recycling facilities, or that refurbish older computers for re-use.
1.5.2008	Information Week
The CIO and Privacy: Liable, culpable or merely responsible The CIO's role and responsibility in protecting the digital privacy of customers, partners and employees, and the security of proprietary corporate data, is changing as businesses vie to comply with laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, experts say.
1.4.2008	Washington Post
Virginia governor seeks passage of identity theft bills Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine has proposed legislation that would require companies to notify consumers if their Social Security numbers or other personal information were made public by businesses or agencies. The proposal was crafted by a 26-member group of government officials, business leaders and consumer advocates.
12.14.2007	San Francisco Chronicle
Privacy laws need better controls, technology, panelists say Current privacy laws have not kept up with technology, according to conference panelists in California who called for clearer U.S. laws and better technological controls regarding what information should be public and how it should be used.
12.12.2007	TechNewsWorld
Calculating PCI noncompliance costs Industry experts say that it remains vital that all organizations affected by the Payment Card Industry standards consider both the short- and long-term costs of noncompliance as well as the benefits of meeting the requirements.
12.12.2007	New York Times
U.S. planning to delay accounting rules for small companies A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official said it will delay until 2009 a requirement that small companies report on the state of their internal financial controls as required by Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes Oxley Act.
12.3.2007	WebITpr
Information leakage – A new name for an old problem Adverse publicity and damage to customer trust resulting from the loss of confidential information, combined with a growing list of data protection and confidentiality regulations that range from U.S. breach notification laws to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, have helped to bring information leakage to the top of boardroom agendas, experts say.
12.2.2007	Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Sarbanes-Oxley doing its job, law co-author says Five years after the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, former U.S. Rep. Michael Oxley, who coauthored the legislation with former U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes, says the law has helped to clean up corporate malfeasance and established more financial accountability by company executives, board members and auditors.
11.26.2007	Marketwatch
Governance, risk and compliance strategy still a priority An overwhelming majority of public company executives remain committed to implementing a successful Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) strategy despite organizational challenges, a new Approva Corp. survey found.
11.19.2007	Financial Week
SarbOx: Cost is key in debate on small business adoption As U.S. lawmakers consider a delay in small businesses’ implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appears resolute about implementation plans, commerce officials say. A recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey found that many small businesses expect SarbOx costs to consume more than 3% of their net revenue in the first year.
11.12.2007	CFO
U.S. SEC enforcement actions shoot up One third of the cases brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during the 2007 fiscal year regarded companies that did not provide correct disclosures in their financial statements, an SEC official said. The SEC reportedly filed 14% more enforcement cases in the recently ended fiscal period.