How will the CTA Impact Backdating Agreements?

It has long been a common practice to backdate agreements for clean dates or other reasons. Setting aside the many other considerations that go into whether or not it is legal or appropriate to backdate an agreement, for companies that have a direct or indirect CTA reporting obligation, backdating becomes very complicated due to the filing requirements and deadlines under the CTA. For example, backdating an ownership related agreement could make compliance with a filing deadline effectively impossible.  

Beyond the initial reporting deadline issues, backdating can also cause headaches with regard to  obligations the company may have to a third party– for example with respect to subsidiaries and other related parties. Backdating of any kind should be done with great care, particularly in consideration of the CTA.