OSC staff reviewed the compliance of 12 investment entities, which represent over 90 per cent of the collective market capitalization of the investment entities subsector in Ontario. The purpose of the review was to improve disclosure in material areas, assess accounting areas which require the exercise of significant judgement, and to inform policy related issues.

Review the press release on the CSA's website and Staff Notice on the participating jurisdictions' websites.

The EMMoU provides for additional enforcement powers that IOSCO believes are necessary for continuing to safeguard the integrity and stability of markets, protect investors, and deter misconduct and fraud.

Review the press release on the IOSCO's website.

The survey was conducted to learn more specifically how the Street uses company-reported and SEC-mandated metrics, and provide insights to help management teams better communicate with investors.

Key findings:

• Almost three-quarters (74%) of respondents rely on non-GAAP more than GAAP reporting in evaluating a company’s performance. Forty-four percent of respondents believe that non-GAAP measures have become more important over time.
• Most respondents (90%) will frequently make their own adjustments to a company’s GAAP results based on what they believe is relevant in evaluating performance.
• Intangible assets are considered important factors in evaluating stocks for nearly two-thirds (64%) of the respondents.

Review the press release and the survey on Clermont Partners' website.

Based on their analysis of these comment letters, they have identified a number of areas of SEC staff focus during this period, in descending order of frequency:

• Failure to present GAAP measure with equal or greater prominence (C&DI 102.10)
• Inadequate explanation of usefulness of non-GAAP measure
• Misleading adjustments, such as exclusion of normal, recurring cash expenses (C&DI 100.01)
• Inadequate presentation of income tax effects of non-GAAP measure (C&DI 102.11)
• Individually tailored revenue recognition or measurement methods (C&DI 100.04)
• Misleading title or description of non-GAAP measure
• Use of per share liquidity measures (C&DI 102.05)

Review the publication on the Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's website.

Businesses are using DLT in a variety of ways. DLT may be used as the underlying technology in trading, clearing and settling securities.

“Many uses of distributed ledger technologies have the potential to increase transparency and efficiencies in our capital markets, and we are keen to support this type of innovation,” said Pat Chaukos, Chief of OSC LaunchPad. “Because this is a novel area, businesses may not be aware that some uses of this technology could trigger securities law requirements. We encourage these businesses to speak with us about securities law and investor protection requirements that may apply.”

Review the press release on the OSC's website.

The OSC received 21 comment letters on its draft 2017-2018 Statement of Priorities. The feedback was broadly supportive of reducing regulatory burden, working with fintech businesses to foster innovation in capital markets, and implementing targeted approaches to address seniors’ issues.

The final 2017-2018 Statement of Priorities includes an additional priority related to the work required to transfer regulatory oversight of syndicated mortgages to the OSC.

Re­view the press re­lease and the 2017-2018 Statement of Priorities on the OSC's web­site.

This year’s report focuses on issues and trends related to Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), non-GAAP financial measures, and forward-looking information, among other areas.

Review the press release and the Annual Report on the OSC's website.

The report summarizes capital raising activity by corporate (non-investment fund) issuers in Ontario’s exempt market during 2015 and 2016. Additionally, the report examines capital formation by small Canadian issuers in Ontario’s exempt market, and the impact of recently introduced prospectus exemptions.

The report revealed increased activity in Ontario’s exempt market, especially among Canadian issuers and among small businesses.

The report also found that the new prospectus exemptions have gained traction among a sizeable proportion (25 per cent) of Canadian issuers participating in the exempt market.

Review the press release and the Staff Notice on the OSC's website.

The Basel III reforms have been introduced through a series of regulatory changes in recent years, designed to address weaknesses in banks’ resiliency that were revealed during the financial crisis. Previous changes were designed to deal with the quantity and quality of bank capital and liquidity. This final set of reforms is aimed at improving the risk sensitivity of capital standards and will increase the transparency and consistency in the way banks measure and report their exposure to various risks, and the capital held against those risks.

OSFI will launch a public consultation on the domestic implementation of the Basel III reforms in spring 2018. The consultation will focus on potential modifications required for the Canadian context and on the implementation timelines.

Review the press release on the OSFI's website.

In 2017, PCAOB inspectors are focusing on audit areas and attestation procedures where inspectors previously found deficiencies, including auditor independence, engagement quality reviews, and certain areas of the financial statement audit (including revenue, the assessment and response to risks of material misstatement due to fraud, financial statement presentation and disclosure, fair value measurements, and related party transactions).

During the 2017 inspection cycle, the PCAOB plans to inspect 75 firms that audit broker-dealers, covering portions of 115 audits and the related attestation engagements for these broker-dealers. That number includes four firms that audit more than 100 broker-dealers, 16 firms that audit 21 to 100 broker-dealers, and 55 firms that audit one to 20 broker-dealers.  .

Re­view the press release and the staff inspection brief on the PCAOB's web­site.