Overcoming the learning curve for a new situation or role at work can be difficult, especially when the situation or role requires specialized knowledge. Newly appointed audit committee chairs face a particularly steep learning curve, given that audit committees of publicly traded corporations are responsible for monitoring management’s financial reporting decisions. Doing the job effectively requires understanding the company’s culture, risks, internal controls, activities, and policies. It also requires coordinating the activities of the audit…

Thank you, Rich, for that kind introduction and for inviting me here today. As is customary, I’d like to note that my views are my own, and I am not speaking on behalf of my fellow Commissioners or the staff. Since I was last with you at these conferences, Rich, I’ve been honored to hold a number of roles. Most recently I spent three and a half years at MIT, where my research and teaching…

Mergers and acquisitions are considered an integral part of a well-functioning governance system, an effective device for transferring corporate control to more capable owners and executives who can manage firm assets more efficiently and create economic value for shareholders of target firms. Acquirers, meanwhile, aim to reap financial synergies by integrating their economic resources and operations with those of targets. All this takes time, though, which is why mergers are often considered long-term corporate investments.…

On June 4, 2021, the European Commission (“EC”) released a final working draft, along with its implementing decision, for a new set of Standard Contractual Clauses (“New SCCs”) for the transfer of personal data to countries outside of the European Economic Area (“EEA”) whose laws the EC has determined do not provide an adequate level of data protection.  In this memo we highlight three key developments that contracting parties should be aware of with regard…