Sarbanes-Oxley "lite" in the European Union?  CFO Magazine has a nice discussion of the state of financial regulatory reform in Europe, especially in the wake of the Parmalat meltdown and scandal, which deeply implicated some of the key banks funding the Italian conglomerate.  The banks' usual cries that self-regulation will cure all may not, this time, carry the day.

Currently, the EU has no regulatory body that remotely resembles the SEC, and whether or the extent to which there should be a "Brussels SEC" is what the debate is all about.  Among the specific initiatives under consideration is whether a single prospectus should be valid in all EU member-states, and whether GAAP ought to be mandatory.

Perhaps interesting, you say, but remind me again what this has to do with law firm economics?  Simply that any heavyweight U.S. firm has a deep reservoir of expertise with the matrix of mandated financial disclosure; if Europe adopts something similar, won't we have an advantage in advising European firms?  Is your corporate/securities practice group ready?