SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro vowed to be tougher on enforcement when she first took office.  Since she took the reins at the SEC in 2008, the Commission has adopted several reforms in order to ramp up enforcement efforts, including reorganizing its enforcement staff, lowering internal hurdles to its police work, and creating a centralized database of tips and complaints.  The SEC also implemented a whistleblower program which rewards those who bring financial fraud to the government’s attention with a share of the government’s recovery.  Although some criticize the SEC for its purported reticence to hold individuals accountable, 35 senior corporate officers have been charged in cases related to the financial crisis.

Some, however, have argued that the SEC should be even more aggressive in policing corporate fraud and criticized the Commission’s handling of recent events, including a potential conflict of interest case regarding the SEC’s former general counsel and problems with its document retention policies, resulting in a civil suit by a member of the SEC’s enforcement staff and a probe by the National Archives.

Read the entire article, “SEC under Schapiro struggles to turn around amid political, financial head winds”