SEC Enforcement Targets For 2018 Include ‘Exam' Cheating, Failure To File And ‘Pump And Dump' Schemes

While the Trump Administration is known for its deregulatory approach (see this previous Ticker report), including a January 25 decision by the Department of Justice to end "use of civil enforcement authority to enforce agency guidance documents," SEC enforcement action continues apace. A recent action against six high-profile accountants focused on professional ethics. The first of the SEC's two orders in the matter states that the allegations involve "unauthorized disclosures of confidential information from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ... relating to its Inspections program, and a concerted effort by the [accountants] to use that information to benefit [the firm] and, consequently, themselves." In essence, the accountants cheated on their auditing "exam."