Under the proposed new rules, there are no bright lines. Lessors can classify a lease transaction as either a Performance Obligation or a Partial Derecognition lease. These two products perform very differently on the balance sheet, in a way similar to the different performance of Operating leases and Direct Finance leases. Keep in mind also that the huge bulk of equipment finance transactions are smaller "cookie-cutter" deals — the amount of profit associated with them precludes the possibility of having an accountant make a classification ruling on each deal individually. The classification process must be automated. IT Systems must be able to accommodate classification rules automatically.
The Dodd-Frank Act directs the Sentencing Commission to amend the Sentencing Guidelines for certain fraud offenses, just as SOX did ten years ago. Those SOX amendments led to sentences greater than under the original Guidelines Manual, and a similar result will likely follow from Dodd-Frank.
The DOJ exercises virtually unlimited discretion in deciding who gets charged in FCPA cases and, for all practical purposes, in deciding the amount of the financial penalty imposed against corporate violators. But sentencing of individual defendants is ultimately a matter of judicial, not prosecutorial, discretion.
Speed, smart speed, still wins in competition. Unfortunately, I find too many company executives are not heeding this reality when it comes to the changes in financial accounting for leases.
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?
