Survey shows 61 percent of companies are engaged in or considering a legal entity rationalisation. A 2020 survey conducted by CFO Research and Vistra found that 61 percent of respondents were engaged in or considering conducting a legal entity rationalisation. Some may find that number surprising, but there are good reasons so many companies are undertaking rationalisations. In this podcast, CFO Magazine’s Nick Ciavatta interviews Charlotte Hultman and Ed Novak about why legal entity rationalisations are so popular, and why they’ll...

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Following on from this week’s big announcement by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) on its expectations for international data transfers after the European Court of Justice’s July 16 Schrems II decision, the European Commission released a draft set of new Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and a draft implementing decision. The Commission’s draft set of clauses allows for two new types of transfer (EU-based processor to ex-EU processor, and EU-based processor to ex-EU-controller) and contains important updates to bring the text of the...

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On November 10, 2020, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted the long-awaited "Recommendations 01/2020 on measures that supplement transfer tools to ensure compliance with the EU level of protection of personal data" (the recommendations) - available here. The recommendations should assist organizations in dealing with the consequences of the Schrems II judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (which invalidated the Privacy Shield and imposed additional requirements on organizations for their transfers of personal data). There are...

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Cities are getting creative and exploring changes to draw people back to public transportation and get the economy moving again. Is public transportation as we knew it officially dead? Despite the doomsday scenario seemingly cemented in the media, public transportation was actually already seeing diminished ridership around the world over the past decade — led by a 15% decline in bus riders in both the US and UK. COVID-19 should actually be seen as the long-overdue catalyst for change. Now more than ever, cities...

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Third-quarter M&A activity broke higher from what was an extremely subdued and uncertain second quarter. Retail drove the bulk of transaction activity in a sector which saw demand return and retailers drive significant business via necessary replacement tire and maintenance service spend during the quarter. The highlight of the quarter is Meritage Group’s – an investment advisor with over $12 billion of assets under management – acquisition of Les Schwab Tire Centers in September. Despite delays in the transaction due...

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For the past ten weeks, negotiators from the European Parliament and Council have been embattled over finding a compromise on the EU’s next seven-year budget. On Tuesday, the two institutions’ delegations reached a political agreement, almost sealing the deal on the roll-out of the €1.8 trillion package aimed at financing the COVID-19 economic recovery through additional funding for future jobs and competitiveness, as well as leading the EU’s green and digital transformation. Compared to the momentous agreement reached by the...

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After a long, four-month wait, we finally have recommendations from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) on “supplementary measures” in the context of international transfers of personal data – i.e. measures required to ensure that transfers to countries outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) are permitted under the GDPR. Follow-up on Schrems II Under the GDPR, transfers of personal data from the EEA to a non-EEA recipient are prohibited unless the sender has a certain degree of confidence – thanks to...

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