Just in case you all may not have noticed, each and every MBS as well as every CDO and every CDS MUST be blessed by an accounting firm in addition to undergoing a rigorous rating examination and an SEC filing. I'm guessing that this was written during the immediate post ENRON period giving congress and the SEC lots of time to ignore the run-away freight train that the MBS market became and that was facilitated by lax oversight.
Tell me, do you think that our representatives did their job? Do you think that they were (are) more interested in donations from the banks than in enforcing regulations? Our representative here in the sixth district is a member of this committee and has been all along. Read on!
Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises
The United States has the largest and most efficient capital markets in the world, providing the investment needed for businesses worldwide to grow and flourish. Since the 107th Congress, the Financial Services Committee has had responsibility for overseeing U.S. policy in the capital markets and for ensuring the transparency and integrity of those markets. Millions of Americans either directly or indirectly invest their savings and retirement funds in the capital markets. Unlike accounts at banks and other depository institutions, these investments are not insured by the federal government. In light of these facts, the Democratic Caucus has sought to promote policies that will provide the greatest possible investor protection and ensure all investors are treated fairly. The Committee also has oversight responsibility for the insurance industry and for a number of government-sponsored enterprises.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act Implementation
The collapse of Enron and revelations of accounting fraud at major public companies has profoundly shaken the confidence of investors in U.S. equity markets. To help restore the integrity of the markets, the Democratic Caucus promoted reforms that were ultimately adopted as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act included important reforms intended to restore auditor independence, improve financial disclosures, increase corporate responsibility, and enhance the ability of the Securities and Exchange Commission to prosecute securities fraud. For these reforms to be effective, however, they must be thoroughly implemented. The Committee’s Democrats will continue to focus on ensuring that post-Enron reforms are fully and effectively implemented.
Corporate Governance
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act included important corporate governance reforms to ensure that independent directors were truly independent and that auditors were responsible only to audit committees, not to management. More needs to done, however, to ensure that the management and the boards of directors of public companies act in the interests of shareholders. The Democratic Caucus will continue to press for additional reforms to reduce the conflicts of interest faced by managers, directors, and auditors.
Auditor Oversight
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act established the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to provide direct oversight of the auditing profession for the first time. The Financial Services Committee must exercise its oversight authority to ensure that the new Oversight Board provides the kind of regulation and supervision necessary to restore the independence and integrity of the audit profession. Committee Democrats will continue to push for policies that limit the conflicts of interest faced by auditors as a result of non-audit services provided to public companies.
Hypocrisy, isn't one of the best human traits?
No comments:
Post a Comment