Sarbanes-Oxley "lite" in the European Union? CFO Magazine
has a nice discussion of the state of financial regulatory reform in Europe, especially in the
wake of the Parmalat meltdown and scandal, which deeply implicated some
of the key banks funding the Italian conglomerate. The banks’ usual
cries that self-regulation will cure all may not, this time, carry the
day.
Currently, the EU has no regulatory body that remotely resembles
the SEC, and whether or the extent to which there should be a "Brussels
SEC" is what the debate is all about. Among the specific initiatives
under consideration is whether a single prospectus should be valid in
all EU member-states, and whether GAAP ought to be mandatory.
Perhaps interesting, you say, but remind me again what this has to do
with law firm economics? Simply that any heavyweight U.S. firm
has a deep reservoir of expertise with the matrix of mandated financial
disclosure; if Europe adopts something similar, won’t we have an advantage
in advising European firms? Is your corporate/securities practice
group ready?
