On Sept. 9, 2015, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced new measures to fortify its pursuit of corporate wrongdoing in criminal and civil matters. The policy shift, set forth in a memorandum from Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, seeks to hold individuals accountable for corporate wrongdoing and ensure full cooperation from corporations in “ferreting out” individual misconduct. Funds are already facing heightened regulatory requirements. The newly announced policy now marks an additional shift for funds under investigation. Most significantly, the...

Read more

The private fund adviser industry has fallen under the SEC’s registration authority only since the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act granted the regulator increased oversight beginning in 2012. Fee and expense practices in particular have come under increased scrutiny since mid-2014, when SEC examinations identified high rates of fee- and expense-related violations. In that round of inspections, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations identified “violations of law or material weaknesses in controls” in more than half of the 112 examinations...

Read more

The Government decided today to upgrade the Swedish presence in New York by opening a salaried Consulate General. The Consulate General will open in December and replace the honorary consulate currently there. The focus of the Consulate General in New York will be to promote the image of the innovative, creative and competitive Sweden of today. Trade and investment promotion at the Consulate General is expected to largely focus on conveying knowledge and offering a network and platform for promotion...

Read more

The International Property Tax Institute offers a quick look around the world to see what is happening in respect of property tax in various countries. Here is an extract from IPTI's president, Paul Sanderson: "Time now for my usual quick look around the world to see what is happening in respect of property tax in various countries. As I am currently in Ireland, perhaps that is a good place to start. The Irish government is to freeze the amount homeowners...

Read more

IIE is currently accepting article submissions for the Spring 2016 issue of IIENetworker magazine on "Faculty-Driven Internationalization." The purpose of this issue of IIE’s biannual magazine is to examine innovative ways faculty can drive internationalization efforts on campus, including leading short-term student international experiences; initiating international research collaborations and publications; creating internationally-focused curricula; participating in programs abroad such as faculty exchanges, training programs, etc.; employing new technology (virtual, social media); and incorporating their own international experiences into their teaching. This issue...

Read more

GRANITO continues to provide the insurance industry with core compliance services. GRANITO’s compliance programs are offered as a model of best practices and include a detailed risk assessment and analysis of sales practices, compensation and marketing programs at the retail level. Post risk assessment detailed but practical and non-theoretical compliance procedures are structured to better ensure consistency with not only existing but proposed rule and regulation changes in connection with the sale of Annuities by either securities and/or insurance only licensed...

Read more

The Institute of International Education, on behalf of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ EducationUSA Advising Network, invites accredited U.S. post-secondary educational institutions (non-profit and for-profit), U.S. higher education associations, university systems, consortia, and qualified entities that meet provisions in IRS section 26 USC 501(c)(3) to submit proposals to be a Partner Organization for the third round of EducationUSA Leadership Institutes. Partner Organizations will develop and manage one of three EducationUSA Leadership Institutes for...

Read more

Social media is omnipresent in today’s society. Everywhere you look, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and many other services offer the ability to share photos, links, videos, tweets, and posts. The proliferation and growth of these communication mediums have allowed everyone, from individuals to multinational companies, to use them as a way to spread their message. Of particular interest in the business world is how to use these social media tools to gain market share and to attract and engage consumers....

Read more