summary
Introduced
03/28/2019
03/28/2019
In Committee
03/28/2019
03/28/2019
Crossed Over
05/22/2020
05/22/2020
Passed
12/08/2020
12/08/2020
Dead
Signed/Enacted/Adopted
12/18/2020
12/18/2020
Introduced Session
116th Congress
Bill Summary
Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act This bill requires certain issuers of securities to establish that they are not owned or controlled by a foreign government. Specifically, an issuer must make this certification if the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is unable to audit specified reports because the issuer has retained a foreign public accounting firm not subject to inspection by the board. Furthermore, if the board is unable to inspect the issuer's public accounting firm for three consecutive years, the issuer's securities are banned from trade on a national exchange or through other methods. Foreign issuers of securities that use such a firm to prepare an audit report must disclose for each non-inspection year the percentage of shares owned by governmental entities where the issuer is incorporated, whether these governmental entities have a controlling financial interest, information related to any board members who are officials of the Chinese Communist Party, and whether the articles of incorporation of the issuer contain any charter of the Chinese Communist Party.
AI Summary
This bill amends the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to require certain issuers of securities to establish that they are not owned or controlled by a foreign government. Specifically, if the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is unable to audit an issuer's reports because the issuer has retained a foreign public accounting firm not subject to the board's inspection, the issuer must certify that it is not owned or controlled by a foreign government. Furthermore, if the board is unable to inspect the issuer's public accounting firm for three consecutive years, the issuer's securities will be banned from trading on national exchanges or through other regulated methods. The bill also requires foreign issuers that use a foreign accounting firm to disclose certain information, such as the percentage of shares owned by governmental entities in the foreign jurisdiction and whether any board members are officials of the Chinese Communist Party.
Committee Categories
Housing and Urban Affairs
Sponsors (5)
Last Action
Became Public Law No: 116-222. (TXT | PDF) (on 12/18/2020)
Official Document
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