The Dodd-Frank Act directed the SEC to reform itself. In a recent report on its progress, the SEC stated that its efforts will be reduced in 2012. The SEC will focus on a limited number of projects that will have the greatest impact or cost savings. The SEC plans to further focus on those items that will most benefit the SEC and the public.
Among the efforts slated for 2012, the SEC intends to conduct a cost-benefit analysis to assess whether to maintain its current number of regional offices. Additional internal reviews will include development of a new staff training strategy, as well as a workforce plan to mitigate workforce trends and risks. It will also assess self-regulatory organization disclosures to the SEC and the public, and SEC oversight of self-regulatory organizations. The SEC intends to address its oversight over FINRA, and further develop enhancements to self-regulatory organization rule filing process. Finally, the SEC will focus on improving its website and the EDGAR filing system.
Although the SEC stated that it will take a trimmer role towards its self-reform, the agenda it has laid out for itself is still robust. All of these efforts can be seen as a further push to become a more modern and agile regulator to meet current and future trends in order to fulfill its mission of protecting the investing public. We will have to revisit these efforts in another year to see if the SEC has moved any closer to that goal.