Preparing analyses and information requested by the auditors, drafting and revising the 10-K, interfacing with counsel, working through issues and questions from the audit committee, securing approval to file the 10-K from the audit committee and the board, and beginning work on the 10-Q for the first quarter. It is common sense that financial executives leaving the employ of a public company early in the year generally don't want to leave their employer until after the 10-K is filed...

Mattel, America's leading toy manufacturer, limped into 2016 under a cloud of pessimism, exemplified by a massive short bet against its stock. MAT shares have rebounded strongly but remain heavily shorted. A profitable contrarian investment opportunity still exists. I examine and attempt to dismantle some of the most common bearish arguments against investing in Mattel...

3 Latest Activist Investor Campaigns With High Payoff Potential...

“Home country bias” describes a situation in which a portfolio is invested disproportionately in companies from one’s own country. Studies have shown that “home country bias” is prevalent in the portfolios of both professional and non-professional investors and may impair long-term risk/return performance ...

Walgreens has an unusual situation where the CEO, board director, and largest shareholder (by a large margin) are all the same person - with benefits and concerns.

The Board Skills Matrix, our new feature, helps show investors how well board skills and experiences align with company strategy and marketplace shifts.....

The Board Skills Matrix highlights board competencies, through skills and experiences, to help investors determine board alignment with company strategy and the changing marketplace ...

History tells us that investors should favor simplicity over complexity. There are hundreds of examples of corporate failures that were caused by complicated business strategies and no true circle of competence. As companies increase their complexity, they often fail to pay attention to their flaws, and they become more vulnerable to risk of loss ...

Furthermore, the information that has surfaced about the deal paints a picture of corporate governance run amok. In this article, we address some key ...

The company made a preliminary, non-binding indication of interest to acquire Hersheys for a mixture of cash and stock, but the offer was immediately rejected. The Hersheys’ trustees, who need to approve any acquisition, are under pressure to keep the company independent, but also have a legal obligation to maximize trust revenue ...

Many investors have shared that they need more engagement to truly assess the quality of board candidates. 77% of Facebook's board have Strategy expertise (Median: 53%) and more than 88% have leadership expertise (Median: 87%). Facebook could consider adding a director with more international skills (or perhaps more clearly disclosing to shareholders the international experience of their current board of directors)...

Bulge bracket executives have greatly differing compensation structures and board compositions, each with potential impacts on shareholder return and contentment. Simply looking at compensation breakdown of cash salary and stock-associated incentives does not tell the full story of potentially low ...

While I appreciate that transforming GM into what the board believes will be the "most valued auto company in the world" takes time and won't happen ...

Chairman John Thain will step down from CIT Group's board following the company's 2016 annual meeting. CIT announced in October Thain will retire as CEO on March 31.....

Canada's government is pushing for changes in Bombardier's ( OTCQX:BDRAF , OTCQX:BDRBF ) dual-class share structure in exchange for possible financial aid, Bloomberg reports.

Cary Wood has resigned as Sparton's (NYSE: SPA ) CEO, and as a board member. Corporate development SVP Michael Osborne has also left...

The board deal could be announced as soon as this week. Greenlight owned about 8% of SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE ) as of Jan. 11. "The seat would give Greenlight, one of SunEdison's largest shareholders, a greater say in one of its most troubled investments...

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: KBIO ) announces the election of two independent directors to the board: Ronald Barliant and Dr. Cameron Durrant. Also, board member Michael Harrison resigned effective January 7...

Viacom ( VIA +5.8% , VIAB +6.4% ) will allow investors a (doomed) March vote on whether to extend voting rights to all its shareholders, Reuters reports...

While Michael Pearson recuperates from his pneumonia, Valeant Pharmaceuticals' (NYSE: VRX ) board member and former CFO Howard Schiller will take the helm as interim CEO. He joined the company in December 2011 after a 24-year career at Goldman Sachs and has served on the board since September 2012 ...

Michael Bonney, an existing Alnylam Pharma (NASDAQ: ALNY ) board member and until this year the CEO of Cubist Pharma, has been named Alnylam's chairman, effective Jan. 1...

Harvey Goodman sold about $266K worth of company stock on Monday, unloading 5K shares at $53.39 each, bringing his family's stake down to about 130K shares...

Samuel Belzberg purchased 55K shares of City Office REIT (NYSE: CIO ) on the open market on Monday at about $11.10 each, bringing his stake in the company up to 138,751 shares...

Midstates Petroleum (NYSE: MPO ) says Chairman Thomas Knudson is resigning effective immediately, and will be replaced by current board member Bruce Stover...

Manitowoc (NYSE: MTW ) says Glen Tellock has resigned as Chairman, President and CEO to pursue other opportunities, and names board member Kenneth Krueger to assume all three positions on an interim basis, effective immediately...