The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Deloitte partner Howard A. Scheck chief accountant in the Division of Enforcement.
Scheck rejoins the SEC staff from Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, where he has been a partner in the forensic and dispute consulting practice. He previously worked at the SEC for 10 years, including as a branch chief in the Division of Enforcement. Scheck expects to begin in his new position in mid-April.
Financial statement and accounting fraud are high enforcement priorities for the SEC, and Howard is highly qualified to lead our accounting staff in its relentless pursuit of these wrongful practices that are so harmful to investors, said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, in a statement.
The integrity and transparency of financial reporting is fundamental to investors and other users of public company financial statements, said Scheck in a statement. I am honored to have the opportunity to rejoin the Division of Enforcement as chief accountant and to contribute to a strong and effective program to prosecute those who would perpetrate and participate in accounting fraud.
As chief accountant for the Division of Enforcement, Scheck will lead the divisions accountants as they provide technical accounting expertise during financial fraud investigations.
As a partner at Deloitte, Scheck led teams of forensic accountants in conducting accounting and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations arising from whistleblower complaints and SEC inquiries. Scheck also worked with public companies to enhance their antifraud and FCPA compliance programs. In addition, Scheck served as a forensic fraud specialist for audit engagements where he participated in antifraud brainstorming efforts and shadow investigations.
Previously at the SEC, Scheck participated in investigating and pursuing numerous enforcement actions relating to accounting, FCPA, market manipulation and insider trading. He also wrote an SEC Enforcement Division internal training guide relating to accounting investigations, and he regularly trained SEC enforcement lawyers and accountants.
Scheck earlier served in the audit department of Touche Ross & Co., where he conducted and supervised financial statement audits. His clients included publicly traded manufacturing and financial services companies. He also served as a senior corporate accountant for a technology company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The previous chief accountant in the Division of Enforcement, Susan G. Markel, left in January 2009 to become a managing director in the corporate investigations practice of business advisory firm AlixPartners.
