Independent auditors have been placed on notice to tighten internal fraud investigations following an October 11 statement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) chief accountant, which can be found here. This statement follows several 2022 enforcement actions taken against auditors accused of ignoring red flags during audits, likely due to pressure from clients. Paul Munter, who heads the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant, referenced several “deeply concerning” reports that suggest auditors are not acting skeptical enough...

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On Wednesday, the European Commission unveiled a long-awaited legislative proposal to make instant payments in euro available to all citizens and businesses with a bank account in the EU and EEA countries. The move will allow people transfer money 24/7, 365 days of the year, within just 10 seconds. Announcing the new measure, Commissioner for Financial Services, Mairead McGuinness, said that the bill would have a “seismic” impact, arguing that it was “comparable to the move from mail to email”. According to the...

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On 28 September 2022, the European Central Bank (“ECB”) launched a public consultation on its draft Guide on qualifying holding procedures (the “Draft Guide”). Although the ECB has exclusive competence to assess acquisitions and increases of qualifying holdings in all credit institutions established in Member States that participate in the Single Supervisory Mechanism, the national competent authorities (“NCAs”) serve as entry points for receiving the relevant notifications and making related proposals. The Draft Guide is intended as a user-friendly handbook. It...

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The Employment Permits Bill 2022 was published on 4 October 2022. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has stated that the purpose of the legislation is to make the system more responsive to Ireland’s evolving labour market. We review the key aspects of the new legislation. Despite COVID-19 and travel restrictions, there has been a steady rise in demand for employment permits in Ireland, with organisations increasingly struggling to hire suitably skilled people within the EU. Consolidation This legislation will consolidate...

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The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force recently issued updated guidance on the federal contractor vaccine mandate and COVID-19 safety requirements. At least for now, the government is still not taking steps to mandate vaccines or enforce contract clauses implementing Executive Order (EO) 14042. In August 2022, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals narrowed the scope of an injunction that had barred enforcement of the contractor vaccine mandate nationwide.  On October 14, 2022, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force and the...

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On October 20, 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury, acting in its role as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), published a new set of “Enforcement Penalty and Guidelines” (the guidelines). This marks the first time since CFIUS was established in 1975 that it provided any such guidance material for parties subject to CFIUS’s statutory purview. CFIUS is charged with identifying and mitigating risks to U.S. national security arising from foreign acquisitions of...

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National and supranational legislatures continue to develop laws requiring employers to conduct due diligence of their operations and those of their business partners in order to address human rights risks such as forced labor and child labor.  Recently, the European Union (EU), Switzerland, and Japan have rolled out such laws, described below: EU’s Corporate Due Diligence and Corporate Accountability Directive In October 2021, we reported on the EU’s Draft Directive on Corporate Due Diligence and Corporate Accountability (the “Draft Directive”). At...

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In this week’s Roar: disappearing volume, easing congestion (and all the positives that comes from that), calls to improve US air cargo infrastructure, and China lagging in sustainability. Where’s the demand? Peak season is here—or at least it should be. At this time of year, we’re typically seeing strong demand and high import volumes, but as concerns about a steep downturn increase, demand (both from consumers and for capacity) continues to slip. And those huge profits the freight market...

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The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced Oct. 17 that starting Nov. 15, it will begin soliciting comments on the effectiveness of Section 301 tariffs the Trump Administration placed on Chinese goods. The notice and request for comments relate to USTR’s ongoing four-year statutory review of the Section 301 investigation of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation. In the Federal Registrar Notice, USTR said it is seeking “public comments on the effectiveness of...

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