Opportunities for Improving the Quality and Efficiency of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Process for Reviewing Reports
FGMSD-80-81: Published: Sep 2, 1980. Publicly Released: Sep 2, 1980.
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A review was undertaken of the administrative procedures used by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in examining company reports to determine whether they comply with Federal legislation requiring them to send periodic financial disclosure reports to SEC.
While the number of statements and reports filed with SEC has increased dramatically over the last 10 years, the number of people reviewing the reports has been reduced. Consequently, SEC has decreased the number of thorough reviews and resorted to abbreviated reviews despite evidence calling for greater scrutiny of the reports. The annual 10K and 10Q reports, the key source for data used to assess a firm's financial condition, have been particularly subject to the shorter review. In addition, SEC has devoted increased staff time and computer resources to identifying and following up on firms which either did not file required reports or failed to file them on time. The staff was given little written guidance for reviewing reports. The adequacy of the reviews and the resulting analyses could not be determined.
Dec 16, 2020
Financial Stability:
Agencies Have Not Found Leveraged Lending to Significantly Threaten Stability but Remain Cautious Amid PandemicGAO-21-167: Published: Dec 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2020.
Dec 10, 2020
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Federal Reserve Lending Programs:
Use of CARES Act-Supported Programs Has Been Limited and Flow of Credit Has Generally ImprovedGAO-21-180: Published: Dec 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 10, 2020. -
Financial Assistance:
Lessons Learned from CARES Act Loan Program for Aviation and Other Eligible BusinessesGAO-21-198: Published: Dec 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 10, 2020.
Sep 22, 2020
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Anti-Money Laundering:
Opportunities Exist to Increase Law Enforcement Use of Bank Secrecy Act Reports, and Banks' Costs to Comply with the Act VariedGAO-20-574: Published: Sep 22, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 22, 2020.
Sep 4, 2020
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Bank Supervision:
FDIC Could Better Address Regulatory Capture RisksGAO-20-519: Published: Sep 4, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 4, 2020.
Jul 21, 2020
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Financial Company Bankruptcies:
Congress and Regulators Have Updated Resolution Planning RequirementsGAO-20-608R: Published: Jul 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 21, 2020.
Jul 6, 2020
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Public Companies:
Disclosure of Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors and Options to Enhance ThemGAO-20-530: Published: Jul 2, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 6, 2020.
Apr 30, 2020
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Priority Open Recommendations:
Department of the TreasuryGAO-20-549PR: Published: Apr 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2020.
Apr 27, 2020
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Priority Open Recommendations:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve SystemGAO-20-499PR: Published: Apr 20, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 27, 2020. -
Priority Open Recommendations:
Federal Deposit Insurance CorporationGAO-20-498PR: Published: Apr 20, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 27, 2020.
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