FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 4, 2021
Contact: Pamela Russell at 202-618-6433 or prussell@bettermarkets.com
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Dennis Kelleher, Co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Better Markets, released the following statement regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) removal of the Chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today and its plan to replace all the current members:
After thousands of investors lost billions of dollars due, in part, to rampant accounting fraud at Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia, and too many other public companies, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed and it created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to police the accounting profession and protect investors, markets and public companies. However, in nothing less than a political and ideological power-grab, the Trump administration installed an unqualified, anti-investor Chair, who promptly gutted the PCAOB, making it impossible for the PCAOB to do its job.
The SEC’s removal of that Chair today is a huge victory for investors, markets and public companies, which need and deserve the protections of the law, including Sarbanes-Oxley and the PCAOB. The SEC’s announced intent to seek candidates to fill all five Board positions is equally welcome news. We have no doubt that the SEC will seek and appoint highly qualified, experienced and independent members who will restore the PCAOB to its intended role.
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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies – including many in finance – to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.com.
