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‘Enforcement 40’ for 2020
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Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedIn“Outdated” –SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce’s Remarks before the Digital Assets at Duke Conference
Why not set forth a coherent legal framework in a rule? After all, if we continued with our regulation-by-enforcement approach at our current pace, we would approach 400 years before we got through the tokens that are allegedly securities.[46] By contrast, an SEC rule would have universal—albeit not retroactive—coverage as soon as it took effect. […]
PCAOB’s Ballooning Budget
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) is requesting $349.5 million for its 2023 budget and a $329.4 million accounting support fee to fund it. Sarbanes-Oxley gave the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) responsibility for approving the PCAOB’s budget, and the associated accounting support fee levied on companies and SEC-registered broker-dealers to fund the budget. […]
Speech by SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce: “It’s Not Just Scope 3: Remarks at the American Enterprise Institute”
It is not the Southeastern Conference Commissioner’s job to get into the huddle to pick what play the team should run. Nor is it the Securities and Exchange Commission’s job to tell companies how to operate. SEC disclosure mandates are intended to be flexible enough to facilitate material disclosures by companies of all sizes and […]
SEC Enforcement Director and SDNY/EDNY Officials Address Enforcement Priorities | Corporate Defense and Disputes
Director Grewal stated that his mission is to restore public trust in the securities markets through proactive enforcement efforts…. *** Focusing on emerging risk areas. Director Grewal mentioned three such areas: Private funds, where “opacity” is “concerning,” including as to fees and expenses, conflicts of interest, and fraud; Crypto, an area where he said recent […]
Speech by Gurbir S. Grewal — Remarks at Securities Enforcement Forum
I want to pause here for a moment because I don’t want an important aspect of the nineteen resolutions I just discussed to get overshadowed by the dollar figures at play. Each of them also involved admissions of wrongdoing. Admissions are an incredibly powerful accountability measure and you should expect us to continue seeking admissions […]
Speech by SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga — Digital Assets: Putting Investors First
Decades of legal precedent on what constitutes an “investment contract” or “note” under our securities laws also provides ample guidance to the industry, as well as the sophisticated securities law bar. It’s not a matter of a lack of guidance but more that the existing guidance may not be what many market participants want to […]
Speech by SEC Chair Gary Gensler | “This Law and Its Effective Administration”
Economic realities inform every sector of our enforcement program. To use “effective administration” in my speaking time, though, let me point to a few cases from this past year. First: If you fail to register a security as required—or to register appropriately as an investment company—you violate the securities laws, regardless of the “form” or […]
CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero, the “Crypto-Knight”
A fearless US federal securities regulator has finally emerged, willing to speak truth to power and to stand up to Big Crypto: CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero, who has dedicated her life to public service and investor protection. Hester Pierce may be the “Crypto-mom” and Chris Giancarlo may be the “Crypto-Dad” — But Romero is […]
Speech by SEC Chair Gary Gensler: “Competition and the Two SECs” Remarks Before the SIFMA Annual Meeting
1933 was an important year in SEC history. No, I’m not referring to the passage of the first federal securities law. I’m not actually referring to the Securities and Exchange Commission at all. I mean the other SEC: you know, the Southeastern Conference. *** The Southeastern Conference was first formed in February 1933. That was […]
The Auditor’s Responsibility for Fraud Detection
Auditors serve an important gatekeeping and investor protection function by helping to verify that issues are promptly identified and addressed so that the auditor has obtained reasonable assurance about whether financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The value of the audit and the related benefits to investors, including […]