Thomas Kollar

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The risk of an accusation of “greenwashing” is now an important concern for many companies. Greenwashing is an ill-defined concept but, nevertheless, is increasingly a source of litigation and regulatory scrutiny – with more of both expected. It carries with it reputational, regulatory and litigation risks for which companies should be prepared. Whilst the risks…

Yesterday, the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) announced it had secured complete access to inspect and investigate issuer engagements of audit firms headquartered in China and Hong Kong, marking the first time in history that Chinese authorities allowed complete access for inspections and investigations meeting US standards. 

Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the PCAOB…

Last Friday, the United States and China appear to have taken a major step towards resolving their long-standing dispute over inspections and investigations by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) of audit firms based in China and Hong Kong that threatens to cause the delisting of approximately $1.5 trillion in U.S.-listed securities by…

On March 24, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted interim final rules to implement portions of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the HFCA Act), which was signed into law by President Trump on December 18, 2020. As explained in an earlier Mayer Brown Legal Update, the HFCA Act aims to…

On December 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA) into law. Later that day, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton published a statement providing an update on a planned SEC rulemaking in light of the enactment of the HFCAA. Noting the significant overlap between the HFCAA and…

On August 26, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Regulation S-K that are intended to modernize business, legal proceedings and risk factor disclosures. According to the SEC, the amendments are designed to update rules, to improve the readability of disclosures and to simplify compliance for reporting companies. These amendments become…

On April 8, 2020, the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) – Jay Clayton – and the Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance – William Hinman – issued a joint statement titled The Importance of Disclosure – For Investors, Markets and Our Fight Against COVID-19 (the “Statement”) providing guidance…