As companies process the implications of tax reform, they may be discovering that there is not much that’s simple about it. In the process, the importance of the tax function—and, in particular, the chief tax officer’s role—has taken on new meaning.

In fact, in the Q1 2018 CFO Signals™ survey, some 33 percent of CFOs noted that the fallout from tax reform is leading them to strengthen or restructure their tax functions (see "Transforming tax in an age of reform," CFO Insights, May 2018). Moreover, given the complexity of implementing the law (60 percent) and the difficulty in communicating its implications (30 percent), CFOs are expecting more from their chief tax officers than ever before.

Review the publication on our US firm's website.

And while there should be more momentum in the year ahead, the country could continue to see trade conflicts with the U.S., as well as potential social unrest, experts say.

Review the full article on Warton's website.

Securities regulators have responded. The CSA recently undertook a review of climate change disclosure made by reporting issuers, and published its findings on April 5, 2018 in CSA Staff Notice 51-354 Report on Climate Change Related Disclosure Project. The CSA found the following:

• Disclosure is lacking
• Most industries are underrepresented
• Investors are dissatisfied with the disclosure

As a result of this review, the CSA has indicated that it intends to consider mandating new disclosure requirements for non-venture issuers in relation to climate change risks, and will continue to assess whether investors require additional types of information, such as disclosure of certain categories of greenhouse gas emissions, to make investment and voting decisions.

Review the full article on Norton Rose Fulbright's website.

This first report in a series of case studies across different countries that looks at significant developments in ESG reporting seeks to address the challenges, opportunities and next steps for corporate reporting and disclosure.

Review the report on the WBCSD's website.

The supplemental draft Guidance is designed to help organizations worldwide respond to the increasing prevalence and severity of ESG-related risks, ranging from extreme weather events to product safety recalls.

COSO and WBCSD are seeking public comment on the draft Gu​idance and the previously released Executive Summary through June 30, 2018. Comment letters may be provided to risk@wbcsd.org​.

The guidance and executive summary are available on the COSO's website.

• Preliminary Draft Guidance
• Preliminary​ Draft Guidance (printable)
• Draft Executive Summary
• Draft Executive Summary (printable)​

Review the press release on the COSO's website.

According to Carney, CPA Canada, its members and others worldwide have an opportunity to help shape good practice.

Governor Carney also is chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which, at the request of the G20, created a task force to develop a set of voluntary disclosures to help establish greater reporting consistency on climate change issues. The disclosures are for use by companies in providing information to investors, lenders, insurers and other stakeholders.

There are three keys to achieving success, explains Carney: Establishing recommendations, getting buy-in from the users, and putting the elements into practice.

Review the summary and video on CPA Canada's website.

Cybersecurity is much more than securing access to applications and data, and proactively adapting to the ever-changing threat landscape. It’s also about enforcing strong controls for data integrity, protecting data from loss, and ensuring availability when the business needs it.

Finance leaders in the enterprise need to ask these questions not only about the applications they run internally, but also of their current and prospective cloud providers:

1. What is our organization’s current exposure to cyber threats?
2. How well are we prepared, and how well are our cloud providers prepared?
3. What is our overall risk tolerance, and are our cloud providers aligned with this?
4. Do we and our providers have processes in place to prevent, detect, contain, and respond?
5. Are our providers investing to reduce risk of data loss or downtime?
6. Do we and our providers have a thoroughly tested plan, so there is no delay in the event of an attack?

Review the full article on FEI Daily's website.

The questions are grouped under four key areas:

• Understanding how the financial statement auditor considers cybersecurity risk
• Understanding the role of management and responsibilities of the financial statement auditor related to cybersecurity disclosures
• Understanding management’s approach to cybersecurity risk management
• Understanding how CPA firms can assist boards of directors in their oversight of cybersecurity risk management

The tool also compiles cybersecurity-related resources from the CAQ, the American Institute of CPAs, the National Association of Corporate Directors, and others.

Review the tool on the CAQ's website.

In a recent speech, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced changes to the policy. The changes, which are more in the form of an adjustment rather than a wholesale change, makes it clear that companies seeking cooperation credit no longer need to identify “all” individuals involved in the wrongdoing, so long as the companies identify those who were “substantially involved” in the misconduct.

Review the full article on the D&O Diary's website.

The paper is very much a discussion paper canvassing the background issues, noting recent developments and asking a number of discussion questions. The paper does not advance a government view.

The key areas addressed by the paper include:

• User created value
• Value of intangibles, including marketing intangibles
• Profit attribution rules
• Existing nexus rules
• Digital business or beyond?
• Interim options

Submissions on the discussion paper are due by November 30, 2018.

Review our summary and the discussion paper on the Australian government's website.