Partner Quoted in Corporate Counsel and Compliance Week on Resource Extraction Issuer Disclosure Rule Developments

In The News
July 8, 2016

Securities & public companies partner Michael Littenberg (New York) was quoted in articles published by Corporate Counsel and Compliance Week that discussed the Securities & Exchange Commission’s final version of the Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers Rule issued on June 27. The rule requires many companies in the resource extraction business to disclose most payments they make to the U.S. federal government or foreign governments related to commercial development of gas, oil and minerals.

The Corporate Counsel article, which appeared on June 28, noted that “the new resource extraction issuer rules give businesses new compliance responsibilities that could get onerous for some.”

“This is something that each company will internally need to figure out based on its particular circumstances, since a one-size-fits-all approach is not likely to work,” said Mr. Littenberg. “Among other things, companies will need to figure out how to monitor, collect and synthesize the information they will need to report out. At some companies, that will be a fairly easy exercise, for others it will be harder.”

Compliance Week, in a July 5 article, highlighted some advice for companies from Mr. Littenberg, who said that “It would be an over-statement to say the rule has been bullet-proofed against future litigation, but I do think the SEC tried to do a good job in explaining why particular provisions were still appropriate to include in the rule.”

Once companies have determined that they have obligations under the rule, they will need “to determine what, exactly, they have to report and put in place the systems needed to capture and report the data out.”

“Job 1A is figuring out what you need to do internally to comply,” Mr. Littenberg said.