SEC enforcement

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board have been lightening the load on audit firms.

Judgments that are overly optimistic, unsupported, or poorly documented can tip into the territory of errors or fraud, leading to restatements and enforcement.

Paul Atkins deflected questions on whether the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board should be scrapped, saying it was up to Congress.

President Trump's nominee to lead the commission has yet to be confirmed, but the sweeping changes from his temporary stand-in are starting to pile up.

The Securities and Exchange Commission dramatically pulled back on accounting and auditing enforcement last year after two years in a row of increases.

Enforcement activity was more muted in the second half of the year, due to a Supreme Court decision and multiple lawsuits against the PCAOB, says a new report.

The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges against the California-based e-commerce food distributor for overstating revenue to Series D investors.

The Louisiana-based utility company paid the Securities and Exchange Commission $12 million to settle the charges.

By selecting Paul Atkins, Trump is tapping one of the most influential GOP financial regulation insiders to oversee Wall Street.

The company failed to follow GAAP when it evaluated its less-than-truckload operations in 2019 and 2020.

The SEC chair's ambitious agenda drew fierce resistance from Wall Street and the crypto industry.

The commission is focused on accounting errors the railroad had previously disclosed and certain non-financial performance metrics. 

The firm agreed to settle charges with the SEC over negligence for its work for the now shuttered crypto exchange.

The company was hit with a $24 million penalty as a result of an accounting scheme designed to inflate earnings.

Shipbuilder Austal USA and its parent company agreed to a $24 million civil penalty to settle fraud charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The board brought 34 actions against 45 respondents and imposed a record $35 million in penalties in the first half of 2024.

Investors waiting for an update of how Donald Trump's media startup is faring will have to wait a bit longer — months by some accounts — before getting a look at financial results.

BF Borgers CPA PC and its founder, Benjamin Borgers, will be permanently suspended from practicing and appearing as accountants before the SEC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission hit the fast-rising auditing firm with $14 million in fines, and charged it with deliberate, systemic failures to comply with PCAOB standards.

The Consolidated Audit Trail is a database that is set to revolutionize how the agency monitors trading activity and spots potential misconduct.