Seminar  Seminar

Annual Disclosure Documents 2012: Preparation of Disclosure Documents, Annual Meeting and Regulatory Developments


Why you should attend

Stay current on disclosure requirements and developments affecting annual disclosure documents and proxy soliciting materials prepared by SEC reporting companies. Hear from the SEC staff and our faculty who will focus on current “hot issues,” best practices and practical pointers. 2012 appears headed towards being another interesting year with significant events and uncertainties covering a wide spectrum of matters affecting public company disclosures - including, for example, the JOBS Act; the Dodd-Frank Act mandated rulemaking by the SEC (in particular executive compensation, compensation committees and advisers, conflict minerals and government payments by companies in resource extractive industries); domestic and international economic, political and regulatory uncertainties and developments; and cybersecurity, weather trends, and the continuing convergence towards a global accounting standard. Ethics and whistleblower developments impose even further challenges on both in-house and outside counsel. Our faculty will discuss key areas of staff comment, staff review priorities and interpretations, disclosure drivers and best practices, and “must know” accounting developments affecting financial disclosures documents.

What you will learn

  • Disclosure practices and developments, including under the JOBS Act; recent judicial decisions; and staff comments, views and guidance
  • Practical how-to guidance on drafting annual disclosure and proxy documents
  • Updates on current executive compensation disclosures, requirements and practices
  • Practical guidance on holding a successful annual meeting and interfacing with shareholders
  • Review of the 2012 shareholder proposal season; what to expect for 2013
  • Developments on use of social media

Who should attend

Attorneys, accountants, financial and compliance officers, disclosure committee members and others responsible for preparing public company disclosures and/or overseeing compliance with the securities laws.

Morning Session:  9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Day One:  9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

9:00  Corporation Finance Developments and Priorities

  • Rulemaking Initiatives: extractive industries, conflict minerals, proxy enhancements, Dodd-Frank and JOBS Acts
  • Update on C&DIs and other Staff guidance
  • Update on the staff’s disclosure review program
  • Best practices in interacting with the SEC Staff

Abigail Arms, Mary J. Mullany, Amanda Ravitz, Todd J. Russo

10:00  Disclosure Developments and Challenges

  • Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Operating  Results, including liquidity and capital resources, and trends, events and  uncertainties
  • Practices for disclosing good, bad and ugly news
  • Social Media, Regulation FD

Sandra L. Flow, Keir D. Gumbs, Mneesha Ohri Nahata, Christoph A. Pereira, Amanda Ravitz, Todd J. Russo
 
11:00  Networking Break

11:15  Emerging Growth Companies

  • Who is an EGC
  • Developing practices by EGC’s using the modified disclosure scheme
  • What has been the staff’s experience

Sandra L. Flow, Keir D. Gumbs, Mary J. Mullany, Amanda Ravitz

12:30  Lunch

Afternoon Session:  1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

1:30  Accounting and Financial Reporting Developments and Priorities

  • Key accounting pronouncements and initiatives affecting/driving disclosures outside of the financial statements
  • ASC 450 (FAS 5) contingencies
  • Fair value accounting
  • Impairments
  • Application of significant subsidiary tests
  • Practice developments resulting from the JOBS Act
  • What to look for during the coming year

Abigail Arms, Amy J. Dorfmeister, Sandra L. Flow, Amanda Ravitz, Todd J. Russo

2:45  Networking Break

3:00  Insider Trading, FCPA and Securities Offerings Developments

  • Insider trading, black-out periods, wall-crossings, 10b5-1 plans
  • FCPA developments
  • Securities offering developments

Abigail Arms, Joan E. McKown, Mary J. Mullany*, Keir D. Gumbs, Deborah C. Lofton, Amanda Ravitz

4:00  Ethics:  Developments and Challenges

  • “Appearing and practicing before the Commission”
  • Lawyers as gatekeepers
  • Lawyer challenges coming out of the JOBS Act
  • Whistleblower developments

Abigail Arms, Joan E. McKown

5:00  Adjourn

Day Two:  9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Morning Session:  9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

9:00  Say-on-Pay - The 2012 Experience and Preparing for 2013

  • Say-on-pay - issues and 2012 results
  • Say-on-parachutes - the disclosure and vote requirements
  • Practical consequences of say-on-pay votes

Stephen L. Brown, Deborah C. Lofton, Mary J. Mullany, Christoph A. Pereira, Amanda Ravitz

10:00  Developments and Best Practices in Executive Compensation

  • Focus of SEC staff comments and latest staff guidance
  • The ever-evolving Compensation Discussion and Analysis
  • Impact of Dodd-Frank on pay-for-performance, internal pay comparisons and other disclosures
  • The heightened requirements for and scrutiny of board compensation committees
  • Executive compensation trends
  • Trends in independent compensation committee advisers

Melissa L. Burek, Keir D. Gumbs, Doreen E. Lilienfeld, Deborah C. Lofton, Mary J. Mullany, Christoph A. Pereira

11:15  Networking Break

11:30  Annual Reporting Practices and Shareholder Meeting

  • Tips on preparing your 2013 annual meeting proxy statement and annual report and holding your annual meeting
  • SEC and other developments affecting annual reporting and the proxy solicitation process

Deborah C. Lofton, Ronald O. Mueller, Mary J. Mullany, Christoph A. Pereira

12:30  Lunch

1:30  Corporate Governance and Shareholder Proposals

  • Corporate governance disclosures
  • Overview of the 2012 shareholder proposal season; what is anticipated for 2013
  • Shareholder Proposals: tips on how to handle; be alert to changes in staff positions
  • Shareholder activism  

Stephen L. Brown, Marc H. Folladori, Richard H. Grubaugh, Christoph A. Pereira

2:45  Solicitation Issues

  • Proxy access
  • Getting the vote out
  • Proxy advisory firms
  • Communications with shareholders

Richard H. Grubaugh, Gary Hewitt, Deborah C. Lofton, Ronald O. Mueller

3:45  Networking Break

4:00  Case Study:

  • Discussion among the panelists and the audience of issues that may arise when shareholders are asked to approve an equity-plan related proposal. 
    The discussion will cover , among other topics:
    - Executive compensation pay practices
    - Communication policies and practices
    - Managing shareholder proposals
    - A walk through the proxy statement process
    - The view from different participants in the proxy process

Melissa L. Burek, Richard H. Grubaugh, Gary Hewitt, Doreen E. Lilienfeld, Deborah C. Lofton, Ronald O. Mueller, Mary J. Mullany

5:00  Adjourn

Co-Chair(s)
Abigail Arms ~ Shearman & Sterling LLP
Mary J. Mullany ~ Ballard Spahr LLP
Speaker(s)
Stephen L. Brown ~ Senior Director of Corporate Governance & Associate General Counsel, TIAA-CREF
Melissa L. Burek ~ Partner, Compensation Advisory Partners, LLC
Amy J. Dorfmeister ~ Ernst & Young LLP
Sandra L. Flow ~ Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Marc H. Folladori ~ Mayer Brown LLP
Richard H. Grubaugh ~ D.F. King & Co., Inc.
Keir D. Gumbs ~ Covington & Burling LLP
Gary Hewitt ~ Executive Director, ISS
Doreen E. Lilienfeld ~ Shearman & Sterling LLP
Deborah C. Lofton ~ Vice President and General Counsel, Qlik Technologies, Inc.
Joan E. McKown ~ Jones Day
Ronald O. Mueller ~ Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Mneesha Ohri Nahata ~ Senior Counsel, American Tower Corporation
Christoph A. Pereira ~ Chief Corporate, Securities & Finance Counsel, General Electric Company
Amanda Ravitz ~ Assistant Director, Division of Corporation Finance, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Todd J. Russo ~ Deputy General Counsel & Secretary, Buckeye Partners, L.P.
Program Attorney(s)
Meghan K. Carney ~ Program Attorney, Practising Law Institute

New York City Seminar Location

PLI New York Center, 810 Seventh Avenue at 53rd Street (21st floor), New York, New York 10019. Message Center, program days only: (212) 824-5733.

New York City Hotel Accommodations

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The New York Hilton & Towers, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. 1 block from PLI Center. Reservations 1-800-HILTONS or, 1-877-NYC-HILT. Please mention that you are booking a room under the Practising Law Institute Corporate rate and the Client File # is N495741. Reservations on line at www.hilton.com and enter the same Client File # in the Corporate ID # field to access Practising Law Institute rates.

The Warwick New York Hotel, 65 West 54th Street New York, NY 10019. 1 block from PLI Center. Reservations 800-223-4099 or, hotel direct 212-247-2700. Please mention that you are booking a room under the Practising Law Institute Corporate rate. Reservations on line at www.warwickhotelny.com Click reservations in menu bar on left. Select desired dates. In 'Special Rates' drop down window select Corporate Rate. In 'Rate Code' enter PLIN. Click search and select desired room type and rate plan. Or, you may email reservation requests to: res.ny@warwickhotels.com

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Item# 35585
Location:  New York, NY
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