Regulatory
SEC Bars Four CPAs For Audit Failure; Rare Prosecution Of CPA Auditors For Failing To Fulfill Their Professional Obligations Raises A Question For Financial Advice Professionals
Three New York CPAs today were prohibited from practicing before the Securities and Exchange Commission for at least five years, and another was barred for at least three years. Should it have been a lifetime bar?
It's rare that the SEC bars a CPA from a small audit firm because it is usually too difficult to establish that the accountant should have known a fraud was amiss. If someone is intent on fraud, it can be hard to detect. However, in this case the most basic financial facts about the company appear not to have been verified by the auditors.
SEC Rewards Whistleblower With $150,000 Payout; This Is One Part Of Dodd Frank That Is Working
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of more than $150,000 to a whistleblower whose tips helped the agency stop a scheme that was defrauding investors.
While the July 2010 enactment of Dodd-Frank legislation has been a slow and messy process, this was the sixth whistleblower to be awarded through the SEC’s whistleblower program since it began two years ago. This will help increase trust in the U.S. investment system.
Summarizing The Current Position Of Stakeholders In Decision On Naming FINRA To Oversee RIAs
As Congress and the SEC near a time for reckoning on implementing Dodd-Frank reforms in the regulation of investment advisers, Wall Street, RIAs, FINRA, and other stakeholders are digging in their heels and readying for a Washington, D.C. showdown.
With that dramatic backdrop, Mark Schoeff wrote a solid piece of reporting in today’s Investment News profiling FINRA. Schoeff provides a balanced appraisal of the self-regulatory-organization (SRO) landscape in the financial services industry.
Massachusetts Settles Allegations With Five Independent Broker Dealers For Improper Sales Of Non-Traded REITs, Returning Over $11 Million To Investors
Ameriprise, Commonwealth Financial, Lincoln Financial, Securities America and Royal Alliance yesterday settled charges and agreed to a censure by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for selling non-traded real estate investment trusts that amounted to more than 10% of the liquid net worth of Massachusetts residents.
Consumer Financial Protection Board Weighs In On Senior Advisor Designations; Says SEC, States, And Other Lawmakers Must Act
Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB), an agency created by Dodd-Frank Act as an uber-regulator of financial services in the U.S., issued a report and recommendations today addressing the problem to senior citizens by of designation proliferation. The report offers some very sound conclusions that any sensible, informed, and well-meaning individual would have to agree with, but whether or not CFPB’s recommendations will prompt any reform is anybody’s guess.
More Articles ...
- Identity Theft Rule Adopted By SEC; Provides New Guidance And Red Flags About How BDs and RIAs Must Protect Clients
- Former SEC Chair Schapiro Reportedly Joining Consulting Firm; Another Former Regulator Cashes In On Contacts In A Subtle, Legal Form Of Corruption
- Responding To Financial Crisis, Britain Overhauls Its Regulators
- SEC Wants Data And Comments About Harmonization Of The Rules Governing The Way RIAs Deliver Advice Versus Broker-Dealers
