U.S. Export Controls on Technology Transfers

Companies selling technology products abroad must be careful that they have complied with regulations imposed on the exportation of technology products. This is especially true for companies seeking to export encryption technology. This iBrief explores the considerations that must be given to the export of encryption and other technologies

International Liability in Cyberspace

Activities in cyberspace often expose companies to cybertorts , a species of tort particularly difficult to reconcile with standard insurance policies. The author explores some of the difficulties in obtaining coverage for cybertorts from traditional insurance policies, and makes recommendations for companies to reduce their cyberspace liability exposure

U.S. Export Controls on Technology Transfers

Companies selling technology products abroad must be careful that they have complied with regulations imposed on the exportation of technology products. This is especially true for companies seeking to export encryption technology. This iBrief explores the considerations that must be given to the export of encryption and other technologies

Offshore Offerings by Foreign Entities: How Far Will the SEC Reach to Regulate?

Many countries\u27 regulatory regimes, including that of the United States, traditionally require registration of all investment services offers or securities sales to their citizens. Many have claimed that the Internet will make such financial regulation obsolete. With the advent of the new technology, regulatory bodies across the globe have been forced to redefine what constitutes an offer to purchase securities within their borders. They have come up with a variety of models for regulating cross-border capital flows. Even countries with similar legal traditions such as Britain, the US, and Australia have taken different approaches

The Legend of WARA and Benchmarking Purchase Price Allocation Data

This paper examines the relationship of the relative weightings of intangible assets recorded in purchase price allocations by industry based upon a weighted average rate of return (“WARA”) framework to determine if there is a statistical relationship between the value weightings and discount rates and if benchmarking the value weightings to industry data can be used as a reliable indicator of reasonableness. Both the WARA process and benchmarking assume that the relative values of intangibles impact the discount rate selected or that there is commonality in the industry ratios. Intuitively, the use of WARA and Benchmarking for financial reporting both make sense. Yet, based upon private company data examined, the relative value weightings of intangible assets generally do not have a relationship with the implied discount rate from private company transaction data and benchmarking does not support the values. Although these findings note the current WARA process is flawed, it is established practice for financial reporting. Yet, the development of WARA can be improved by using market data and assessing the variation to support a selection of discount rates in conformity with accounting guidance. Consequently, this paper outlines the problem with the WARA methodology, as well as a policy recommendation to improve the process