WikiLeaks material makes for interesting reading, especially if it does not involve your company. Bank of America Corp., for example, was a recent target of a WikiLeaks exposure. The culprit turned out not to be WikiLeaks but a hacker that goes by the name Anonymous, but the result—exposed information—was the same.

The point here: every business risks finding its information exposed in WikiLeaks fashion. A Bank of America spokesman said the documents were non-foreclosure related clerical and administrative documents stolen by a former Balboa Insurance employee. Should managers feel relieved?

Absolutely not. In this case a former employee of a presumably trusted associate leaked the information. In today’s networked, connected, collaborative economy, every company increasingly relies on expanding networks—ecosystems—of associated organizations with which they must share information. Fortunately, there are ways to protect against this. more

This week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released its study on the impacts of section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (”SOX”). The SEC concluded that section 404(b) which requires an external auditor to issue an opinion on a company’s internal control over financial reporting (”ICFR”) should remain effective for mid-sized companies with a market capitalization of $75 to $250 million. more

Many companies could strengthen their investment policies for money market funds, a recent report by Treasury Strategies, Inc. (TSI) found. The consulting firm talked with more than 160 treasurers around the globe, inquiring about the guidelines (if any) around money market funds contained within their investment policies. The findings “validated TSI’s experience that the vast majority of corporates do not explicitly state money market fund limits in their investment policy, except for a minimum credit rating,” Treasury Strategies said in a statement.

Indeed, 56 percent of respondents said their firms hadn’t established limits on the percentage of their total money market mutual fund investments that could go to a single fund. “That suggests they can put 100 percent in a single fund,” says Laurie McCulley, an Orlando-based managing director with Treasury Strategies. It also is an indication that many companies, in an effort to simplify, may turn to just one or two funds. “Doing so adds to risk,” McCulley notes. more

Unlike lawyers and accountants, investment bankers don’t keep timesheets. After all, they sell success. The bulk of their compensation from M&A transactions is payable only if the deal closes.

This widespread practice creates a significant tax issue: the tax law requires that fees incurred to facilitate certain business acquisitions or reorganization transactions must be capitalized. Generally, the distinction between “facilitative” and “non-facilitative” is made by comparing the activities performed after the taxpayer decided to proceed with a transaction (facilitative), as opposed to the non-facilitative or investigatory activities performed before the decision to pursue the deal. more

The debate over the Dodd-Frank Act continues to rage as regulators work to create the rules and infrastructure needed to support the new law. One of the more contentious areas is the creation of clearinghouses to regulate over-the-counter derivative securities trading. Earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered a speech on this very topic during a visit to Atlanta. In the speech, Mr. Bernanke focused his concern on the potential for the clearinghouses to become a systemic risk as opposed to a systemic control on the increasingly opaque world of derivative trading. more