S.E.C. Approves Rule on C.E.O. Pay Ratio [NYT]
And business people are mad: "Representatives of corporations were quick to assail the new rule, which will start to take effect in 2017, saying that it was misleading, costly to put into practice and intended to shame companies into paying executives less. But the ratio, cropping up every year in audited financial statements, could stoke and perhaps even inform a debate over income inequality that has intensified in recent years as the wages of top earners have grown far more quickly than anyone else’s."
SEC Tries Flipping Witnesses [WSJ]
The Commission currently has 91 cooperation agreements in place with, "more on the way."
In Conflict Minerals, Ethical Investors Gain Ability to Rank Companies [CFOJ]
As you can imagine, there's a wide range of opinions on this disclosure. One CFO isn't convinced, "It’s a frustrating process. It’s a time consuming process. At the end of the day I’m not sure how much value it brings," while an analyst finds the information useful: "How a company manages their conflict minerals program is a marker of how well they manage their supply chain. It’s a sign of leadership in their industry."
Here Are the Internal Documents that Prove Uber Is a Money Loser [ValleyWag]
Unaudited numbers show that Uber is growing fast and, yes, losing money as of now. There is also some enjoyable bickering in the comments over accounting terms.
AICPA Moves Closer to Audit Data Standards [CW]
Here's Amy Pawlicki, director of business reporting at the AICPA: "Just like XBRL is there for financial reporting, we’re developing audit data standards for the collection of data for audit. And it’s not just for external auditors. It is also valuable for internal audit purposes.”
Lamp post destroyed by urine falls in street, just misses driver [SFGate]
A city official believes, "some contribution of dog or human urine," contributed to the three-story lamp post crashing down on a car. No one was hurt.