Fifteen Things to Expect from the SEC’s Enforcement Division in 2014

Likely SEC enforcement trends on settlement, financial accounting, whistle-blowers, gatekeepers, microcaps, technology, and self-reporting.

In April, 2013, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White brought her reputation as a nononsense criminal prosecutor to the Commission. Since that time, she has been vocal about the direction in which she would like to take the Commission. She wants the SEC to be perceived as a ‘‘tough cop’’ that is ‘‘everywhere’’ pursuing even the smallest infractions.¹ Indeed, she has referred to the analogy of repairing ‘‘broken windows’’ to emphasize the need to police minor violations. At the same time, Chair White professes that the Commission will prioritize bigger cases. In other words, her priorities are to do everything.

1. Yin Wilczek, SEC Chairman Vows That No Violation, Big or Small, Will Escape Agency’s Scrutiny, 45 BLOOMBERG BNA SEC. REG. & L. REP. 1883 (Oct. 14, 2013).