The chief financial officer of Lastminute.com has slammed the US 'box-ticking' approach to regulation and warned that 'lots and lots' of dual-listed companies are 'seriously considering' de-listing from US markets.
Link: Regulatory costs force Lastminute.com to de-list
The online travel business announced its intention to withdraw from US technology market Nasdaq last week because of the increased cost burden of complying with onerous regulation.
‘The more the cost of complying with that regulation goes up with no benefit then one starts asking “what the hell do we have it for?”,’ David Howell, chief financial officer at Lastminute.com, told Accountancy Age. ‘I know of lots and lots of organisations with dual-listing that are questioning “what the hell have we got this for and how can we get rid of it?”.’
‘In my view they’ve just gone too far. Sarbanes-Oxley came in, and we lived with that, then you’ve got this new Section 404 coming in and it’s all ending up with a box-ticking exercise for all of our corporate governance.’
He said discussions with the company’s lawyers had been ongoing for between nine and 12 months and that the increased regulation had added up to an extra £1.5m annual compliance burden. Lastminute.com also intends to terminate its reporting obligations under the US Securities Exchange Act.
The numbers you crunch tell a story. Your expertis...
20yEmbracing user-friendly AP systems can turn the tide, streamlining workflows, enhancing compliance, and opening doors to early payment discounts. Read...
View articleOrganisations can enhance their financial operations' efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness by adopting platforms that offer them self-service cust...
View articleIn a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...
View resourceDiscover how AP dashboards can transform your business by enhancing efficiency and accuracy in tracking key metrics, as revealed by the latest insight...
View articleThe ICAEW confirms new vice president, with senior heads appointed at KPMG and EY. Within the mid market, a flurry of end of year partner appointments...
View articleThe ICAEW confirms new vice president, with senior heads appointed at KPMG and EY. Within the mid market, a flurry of end of year partner appointments...
View articleThis follows an investigation into undisclosed personal loans and issues with an acquisition. Despite challenges, the company aims to achieve £1bn in ...
View articleThe ICAEW confirms new vice president, with senior heads appointed at KPMG and EY. Within the mid market, a flurry of end of year partner appointments...
View articleThere is optimism that the IPO market will rebound in the second half of 2024, driven by pent-up demand and potential improvements in economic conditi...
View articleThe ICAEW confirms new vice president, with senior heads appointed at KPMG and EY. Within the mid market, a flurry of end of year partner appointments...
View articleKPMG confirms reappointment of it's UK chair, while EY announces Janet Truncale as the next EY global chair and CEO Read More...
View articleThe ICAEW has announced the appointment of its forthcoming chief executive Read More...
View article