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After almost everything that could be said about accounting fraud and corporate misdeeds has been said, the financial media predictably turned a spotlight on highly paid corporate executives. The glare of the spotlight and ugly headlines in part led to the SEC's adoption in 2006 of comprehensive reforms to the executive disclosure requirements for US reporting companies. These principles-based executive compensation disclosures were intended to provide investors with clarity concerning the total value of executive compensation and termination arrangements. The centrepiece of this plain English disclosure initiative was a new section called Compensation Discussion and Analysis, or CD&A, which first appeared in 2007 proxies. The CD&A section was meant to provide a normative discussion from management concerning the operation and results of its compensation process. Well-intentioned registrants and their advisers dutifully complied with the SEC's requirements for detailed disclosure. The result was 30 to 40-page CD&A sections that were anything but transparent.

The National Bank of Romania (NBR) has recently published on its website a draft amendment to the procedure for authorisation of banks and other credit institutions. This will comply with its public consultation obligations. The period within which suggestions could be transmitted ended on October 5 2007.

On May 8 2007, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the ceiling on investments by mutual funds registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The ceiling went up from $3 billion $4 billion.

The Central Bank of Cyprus has announced its intention to establish a trading platform for bonds and treasury bills on the primary and secondary markets. The new trading platform will be known as MTS Cyprus and will be integrated with the EuroMTS programme.

The results of the Asia Bankers' Counsel Poll demonstrate the importance of Asia moving in step with global regulatory standards. By Paul Browne of Simmons & Simmons

Counsel at a hedge fund on how they can work better

It's time for a change in companies' relationships with their accountants

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, Mifid (Directive 2004/39/EC) is now fully implemented in Swedish legislation. Mifid has been implemented by the adoption of a new Capital Markets Act (lag (2007:258) om värdepappersmarknaden) that enters into force on November 1 2007. The Capital Markets Act will replace the Securities Operations Business Act (lag (1991:981) om värdepappersrörelse) and the Exchange- and Clearing Operations Act (lag (1992:543) om börs- och clearingverksamhet).

The Slovak government introduced a new trading system to simplify and support the trading of financial instruments. In March 2007 it adoped an amendment to Act number 429/2002 Coll on stock exchange (the Act). This amendment introduced a multilateral trading facility. Its purpose was to implement EU Directive no 2004/39/EC on markets in financial instruments (Mifid). The Mifid, together with other measures, will make the EU a unified financial market. It will strengthen the position of the European financial market worldwide.

The Japanese government recently passed the Electronically Recorded Claims Act to address the use of monetary claims that are electronically recorded, so paperless. They include commercial paper and accounts receivable that are transferred electronically, which means in a safer manner than the traditional scheme. The Act provides processes for the creation and transfer of electronically recorded claims (denshi kiroku saiken). It also establishes organisations that are responsible for recording such claims (denshi saiken kiroku kikan, Organisations for Electronically Recorded Claims) on electronic registers (kiroku genbo).