Dec 09
Sports Illustrated provides a surprising statistic: “By the time they have been retired for two years, 78 percent of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress; within five years of retirement, an estimated 60 percent of former NBA players are broke.” There are many contributing factors that quickly spring to mind …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/12/maintaining-wealth-eludes-most-professional-athletes/
Dec 02
The SEC issued its fiscal 2012 (ended September 2012) report regarding is complaint reporting system that is maintained pursuant to Section 21F of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This article describes this program. The SEC received over 3000 complaints. With this volume, no wonder that the SEC received complaints came from …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/12/sec-whistleblower-hotline-is-blisteringly-hot/
Nov 26
In connection with its quarterly earnings release and a related $8.8 billion write-down, Hewlett-Packard claimed that it was misled by hidden “serious accounting improprieties” involving its $11.1 billion purchase of formerly-public company Autonomy. The Autonomy acquisition closed October 2011, under the watch of former HP CEO Leo Apotheker. Apotheker’s reign was short-lived (11 months), and …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/11/hp-to-take-legal-action-over-its-bold-multi-billion-dollar-fraud-allegation/
Nov 25
HP is going to take an $8.8 billion write-down related to its $11.1 billion acquisition of British company Autonomy Corporation PLC in October 2011. HP asserts that much of the write down (approximately $5 billion) is required because of accounting irregularities, allegedly fraud, contained in the financials statements relied upon in association with the purchase. Among …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/11/hp-claims-5-billion-of-overpayment-was-due-to-fraudulent-financial-reporting/
Nov 17
Courts are becoming more assertive in not allowing experts to testify. Because of the success obtained when an expert can be thrown out, filings to eliminate the other side’s expert(s) are become de rigueur. This article summarizes a study on this point. A New York court in re: Wathne Imports, Ltd. v PRL USA, Inc. …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/11/ny-appellate-court-reviews-the-basics-in-allowing-expert-testimony/
Nov 10
Any insurance claim must start with a specific review of your policy. Nevertheless, the following items may be of particular interest in business interruption claims associated with Hurricane Sandy: Check your policy for whether you have coverage for storm-related flooding. Many policies contain an exclusion for floods, unless you purchased …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/11/business-interruption-insurance-reminders-for-hurricane-sandy/
Nov 08
He strikes again. The IRS whistleblower known only as “Mr. ABC” has claimed his third payout for assistance in bringing down tax cheats. Mr. ABC has been critical of the government’s ability to identify and investigate sophisticated tax shelters. Whether motivated by a sense of justice or the pursuit of yet another seven figure reward, …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/11/is-irs-whistleblower-the-new-caped-crusader/
Nov 06
The Administrative Review Board (ARB) for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a decision regarding the scope of the whistleblower protections under Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). In Spinner vs. David Landau and Associates, SOX’s whistleblower protections were extended to employees of contractors of publicly-traded companies. The ARB specifically mentioned its disagreement with …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/11/conflicting-rulings-about-soxs-scope-cause-private-company-employees-to-stay-with-dol-adjudication/
Nov 02
An October 2012 PWC study indicates large private companies see widespread benefit to public company corporate governance processes. PWC surveyed 221 CEOs and CFOs from companies who were spit approximately evenly from service and product companies. The companies had average revenues of $307 million. 80% of these private companies are adopting specific corporate governance practices, …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/11/more-private-companies-are-voluntarily-adopting-improved-corporate-governance-practices/
Oct 23
On October 3, 2012, in Payne vs. Jones, the Second Circuit concluded that a $300,000 punitive damage award was excessive, and remanded for a new trial on punitive damages unless the Plaintiff agrees to accept a reduced award of $100,000. The compensatory damages, which remained intact, totaled $60,000, indicating a five to one ratio before …
Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/10/second-circuit-reduces-punitive-damages-in-a-police-brutality-case/