As outlined in our introductory course, SEC Structure and Responsibility, there are many compliance rules and regulations that publicly traded companies must follow. In addition, the SEC has far reaching powers in the oversight of the various legislations and can assess penalties to companies (or accounting firms), who do not adequately comply with those mandates.
While most violations of securities laws are enforced by the SEC and the various securities regulatory organizations it monitors, state securities regulators can also enforce statewide securities blue sky laws. The SEC also works with federal and state law enforcement agencies to carry out actions against actors alleged to be in violation of the securities laws.
The SEC has a three part mission: to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation. Each mission step has critical components of SEC programs and enforcement actions. This course will delve into the SEC’s mission statement and its applicable powers of enforcement.
This session will delve into the various component areas of the SEC Mission statement and discuss elements relevant to each statement including regulation and rulemaking, enforcement actions, investor alerts and bulletins, filing requirements and financial reporting. We will provide you with an overview of the SECs requirements in these areas from accountant’s perspective.
Publication Date: April 2021
Designed For
Finance professionals, Accounting professionals, Auditing Professionals, Compliance Professionals, and Board and Executive management of public companies or companies considering an IPO.
Topics Covered
- Goals and Strategic Plan
- Goal — Protect Investors
- Goal — Maintain Orderly and Efficient Markets
- Goal — Facilitate Capital Formation
- Filings
- XBRL Overview
- Enforcement Overview
- Rulemaking Overview
- Whistleblower Rules
Learning Objectives
- Recognize the critical components involved in each step of the SEC mission statement and how those elements are executed including: Protecting investors, Maintaining fair, orderly and efficient markets, and Facilitating capital formation
- Recognize the SEC rule making and enforcement process
- Identify Edgar, XBRL and iXBRL
- Recognize the true purpose of the SEC's Strategic Plan
- Recognize how different agencies function
- Describe an Initial Public Offering (IPO)
- Identify which Act instituted the Whistleblower Program
- Recognize the purpose of the PAUSE program
Level
Basic
Instructional Method
Self-Study
NASBA Field of Study
Accounting (2 hours)
Program Prerequisites
None
Advance Preparation
None
Instructor
Lynn Fountain
Lynn Fountain has over 38 years of experience spanning public accounting, corporate accounting and consulting. 20 years of her experience has been working in the areas of internal and external auditing and risk management. She is a subject matter expert in multiple fields including internal audit, ethics, fraud evaluations, Sarbanes-Oxley, enterprise risk management, governance, financial management and compliance. Lynn has held two Chief Audit Executive (CAE) positions for international companies. In one of her roles as CAE, she assisted in the investigation of a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme perpetrated by a vendor that spanned 7 years and implicated 20 employees. The fraud was formally investigation by the FBI and resulted in 5 indictments estimating a $13M fraud loss.
Ms. Fountain is currently engaged in her own consulting and training practice. She is a highly sought-after trainer and international speaker. In addition, Ms. Fountain has assisted numerous companies with enterprise risk management frameworks, internal audit processes and financial accounting. She also serves as a discussion leader for the AICPA for numerous classes finance, accounting and risk management topics.
Ms. Fountain is the author of three separate technical books. Her first book released in 2015 by the Institute of Internal Auditors Foundation is entitled “Raise the Red Flag – The Internal Auditors Guide to Fraud Evaluations”. Her second book “Leading the Internal Audit Function” was released in October 2015 by Taylor & Francis Publications. This book serves as the initial launch for a series of leading practice internal audit and information technology publications. Her third book “Ethics and the Internal Auditor’s Dilemma” was released in December 2016.
Ms. Fountain obtained her BSBA from Pittsburg State University and her MBA from Washburn University in Kansas. She has her CPA, CGMA, CRMA credentials.