Investors were not overjoyed at the conclusion of the Q3 earnings season, thanks to lukewarm results for many significant companies. According to Bloomberg, earnings for the S&P 500 are expected to fall 0.5% for the year as a whole, and some … Continue reading
Author Archives: Olga Usvyatsky
Acquisition Targets: Strong Companies have Better Chances
The market has seen a recent surge in mergers and acquisitions. In the first three quarters of 2015, there have been as many as 45 M&A deals, each of which were over $10 billion. Of those, 33, totaling almost $860 billion, targeted … Continue reading
Materiality: Valeant and Beyond
Every filing season has its fair share of surprises. The current one presents the drama of Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX), which, as a main attraction, is by no means an everyday affair. After all, how often does one see the loss of $10 billion … Continue reading
REITs: Non-GAAP Measurements Face SEC Scrutiny
An article in today’s New York Times reports on a potentially troubling phenomenon of tech companies increasingly using non-GAAP numbers to promote financial performance. “Tech Companies Fly High on Fantasy Accounting“, quoting analysts and investors, further reports that the cumulative … Continue reading
Walmart Reports Material Weakness
In a 10-Q filed yesterday, September 9th, Walmart disclosed a significant deficiency that rose to the level of material weakness in its SOX Section 302 Disclosure Controls and Procedures assessment. The deficiency related to the company’s application of lease accounting. According to … Continue reading
SEC Sweeps Up: Lumber Liquidators Faces Scrutiny
SEC comment letters are a good source of information about the inner workings of a company. Even if the company may be well covered in the press, SEC comment letters still can offer additional information or new points of view. Back in March 2015, Lumber Liquidators … Continue reading
Canadian Filers: Classification of Audit vs Non-Audit Fees
In a post from May, we provided an analysis of audit fees for Canadian companies whose filings are available through the SEDAR system. In 2007, we noted, non-audit fees were 29% of the total fees paid by all Canadian issuers. Over … Continue reading