From the Press Releases page of the SEC website, select and summarize a recent press release. The SEC does not always agree with, and other times adds clarity to, the FASB's standards. Go to the Staff Accounting Bulletins.In those bulletins, how does the SEC clarify the definition of "other than temporary" decline in value as used in SFAS No. 115?Is this clarification helpful? Why, or why not? Does this add clarity to the definition proposed by the FASB? References United States Securities and Exchange Commission. (n.d.). Press releases. https://www.sec.gov/news/pressreleases United States Securities and Exchange Commission. (n.d.). Selected staff accounting bulletins. https://www.sec.gov/regulation/staff-interpretatio... Do the discussion first the do the response each posted below. Posted 1 Summarize a Recent Press Release On January 6th, 2022, the SEC released a statement about criminal and civil charges brought against 3 men involved in insider trading (SEC.gov, 2022). According to the statement, the 3 men (Schottenstein, Bortnovosky, and Shapiro) traded in advance of market moving announcements involving DSW Inc., Rite Aid Corp, and Aphria Inc (SEC.gov, 2022). In the complaint filed by the SEC, the SEC stated that Schottenstein obtained the inside information for the advance trades from his cousin who was a board member of DSW Inc. (SEC.gov, 2022). Schottenstein also tipped off 2 of his friends (Bortnovsky and Shapiro) and they made advance trades on the inside knowledge as well (SEC.gov, 2022). Between the 3 of them, they were able to profit more than $4.7 million from the insider trading scheme (SEC.gov, 2022). How does the SEC clarify the definition of "other than temporary" decline in value as used in SFAS No. 115? According to SAB 111, the SEC believes that FASB consciously chose the phrase "other than temporary" and did not intend on the test to be a "permanent impairment" (Murphy, 2009). However, the SEC also states that the value of investments in equity securities may decline for various other reasons, like general market conditions (Murphy, 2009). Is this clarification helpful? Why, or why not? Does this add clarity to the definition proposed by the FASB? In my opinion, this clarification by the SEC helps accountants and companies better interpret the language in SFAS No. 115. The term "other than temporary" is some what ambiguous and subjective, which makes it hard to define. By the SEC adding further clarification, the SEC made it easier for companies and accountants to define and abide by the standard. Posted 2 I reviewed the press release titled “SEC Issues Awards Totaling More Than $4 Million to Whistleblowers” to review and summarize from the press release page. This article was regarding an announcement from SEC about two rewards being issued to whistleblowers that provided adequate and helpful information in two separate actions. The first case involved misconduct occurring overseas, while the second case involved who provided information about key witness in an ongoing case. “These whistleblowers provided critical information and continued cooperation that helped the agency detect the securities laws violations,” said Creola Kelly, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower. “These awards highlight the importance of the SEC’s whistleblower program to the agency’s enforcement efforts and its ability to maximize staff resources” (). The article went on to detail how the agency has awarded approximately $1.2 billion since 2012, when they issued their first reward. The SEC does not always agree with, and other times adds clarity to, the FASB's standards. Go to the Staff Accounting Bulletins.In those bulletins, how does the SEC clarify the definition of "other than temporary" decline in value as used in SFAS No. 115? “FAS 15 is perhaps best known for requiring investment securities to be categorized into three categories: held-o-maturity, trading and available-for-sale. However, it also requires that an institution determine whether a decline in fair value below amortized cost for an individual available-or sale or held-to-maturity security is other than temporary” (FDIC, 2022, p1). The SEC defines a security that is defined as either one of these terms as when its market value reaches below its amortized cost, as now being other than temporary. Is this clarification helpful? Why, or why not? Does this add clarity to the definition proposed by the FASB? I found the clarification as being helpful personally. The bulletin was a little difficult to follow, and the clarification of “other than temporary” helped me to understand further details of the bulletin. Resources: Regulations & Examinations. FDIC. (2022). Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://www.fdic.gov/regulations Posted 3 From the Press Releases page of the SEC website, select and summarize a recent press release. The SEC had a press release surrounding the $125 million in fraud charges by the Nikola Corporation. Nikola Corporation, a publicly listed business formed through a special purpose purchase company deal, has agreed to pay $125 million to resolve claims that it misled investors about its products, technological breakthroughs, and commercial prospects. The settlement comes after the SEC launched a lawsuit against Trevor Milton, the company's founder and former CEO and Executive Chairman, earlier this year (SEC, 2021). According to the report, Milton launched a public relations effort to inflate and sustain Nikola's stock price before the company had even created a single commercial product. Milton's tweets and media appearances misled investors into believing Nikola had attained specific product and technology milestones. According to the ruling, Milton deceived investors regarding Nikola's technological breakthroughs, in-house manufacturing capabilities, hydrogen production, truck reservations and orders, and financial prospects (SEC, 2021). Nikola agreed to stop violating the charged provisions in the future, to make certain voluntary commitments, and to pay a $125 million fine. Nikola also committed to continue assisting the Commission in its ongoing litigation and inquiry. The order also creates a Fair Fund to distribute the penalty profits to victims. In those bulletins, how does the SEC clarify the definition of "other than temporary" decline in value as used in SFAS No. 115? Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities, Statement on Financial Accounting Standards No. 115 (SFAS 115), is another triumph for proponents of fair value accounting. The FASB has increasingly prioritized financial instrument accounting in general. Fair value disclosures were the subject of previous standards. SFAS 115, on the other hand, focuses on accounting and disclosures. When a security is classed as available-for-sale or held-to-maturity and its market value falls below its amortized cost, an other-than-temporary impairment charge is incurred. The SEC believes that the FASB purposefully included the word "other than temporary" because it did not intend for the test to be "permanent impairment," as it is often used in accounting. Is this clarification helpful? Why, or why not? Does this add clarity to the definition proposed by the FASB? I personally did not think the clarification was helpful. I found it difficult to follow as the Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 111 referenced many different topics and financial accounting standards. I assumed that “other-than-temporary” meant permanent but the FASB did not want to use the word permanent. There are several criteria to consider in such an assessment, and their relative importance varies from situation to instance according to the staff bulletin. References SEC.gov | Press Releases. (2019, October 18). Sec.gov. https://www.sec.gov/news/pressreleases SEC.gov | Nikola Corporation to Pay $125 Million to Resolve Fraud Charges. (2021, December 12). Www.sec.gov. https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2021-267 SEC.gov | Selected Staff Accounting Bulletins. (n.d.). Www.sec.gov. Retrieved January 17, 2022, from https://www.sec.gov/regulation/staff-interpretatio...