More on WH Smith: robust remediation ahead!

We looked here at the following announcement by the retailer WH Smith PLC: In preparation for the Group’s year end results for the financial year ending 31 August 2025, a current financial review has identified an overstatement of around £30m of expected Headline trading profit in North America. This overstatement is largely due to the…

Reexamining foreign company rules, or: is it broke, should we fix it?

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued a concept release on foreign private issuer eligibility. Qualifying foreign companies listing in the US (termed “foreign private issuers”) receive various exemptions from the rules applying to domestic US companies, including the ability to file their statements in compliance with IFRS rather than with US GAAP. The concept…

On Musk’s compensation, or: super appreciated!

Here’s yet another low point in Elon Musk-dom, as reported by CNN: Tesla shareholders approved a pay package on Thursday that could make CEO Elon Musk, already the world’s richest person, the world’s first trillionaire. Tesla announced that more than 75% of shares voted in favor of the pay package during the company’s annual shareholder…

Disclosures in interim reports, or: things changed fast!

As part of its activities, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) organizes a forum of enforcers from 38 different European jurisdictions, all of whom carry out monitoring and review programs similar to those carried out here by the Canadian Securities Administrators. ESMA a while ago published some extracts from its confidential database of enforcement…

Economic benefits from using a battery, or: super-charged!

IFRIC recently considered the following fact pattern: a battery owner and an electricity retailer are registered participants in a gross pool electricity market. The battery owner and the electricity retailer enter into a battery offtake arrangement. Under the terms and conditions of the offtake arrangement, the battery owner retains custody of the battery but is…

Toward semi-annual reporting (for some), or: right-sizing!

We recently looked at Trump’s proposal to move US companies away from quarterly and toward semi-annual financial reporting… …noting along the way that Canadian regulators would no doubt move in the same direction, and that one almost hoped for them to get there first, if even just for the sake of not always seeming to…

A new approach to defining capital investment, or: for my next trick!

Carney is trying to trick all of us with some accounting sleight of hand, opines the title of a recent National Post article. It’s written by Kim Moody. Here are some extracts: During the Liberal Party leadership campaign, (Canadian Prime Minister Mark) Carney said he would separate the federal budget into an “operating budget” and a “capital…