|  | | 2004 News and Press Releases | | |
HEADLINE NEWS:
SEC; Securities And Exchange Commission
Jeffrey Marshall
Financial Executive. December 1, 2004
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EXCERPT: While there have been positive changes in financial reporting in recent months, Donald T. Nicolaisen, the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) chief accountant, sounded a note of mild frustration in his remarks. Nicolaisen, noting that he had come on as chief accountant in August 2003, said, "I've fallen short of my expectations on what we could have done, but we have made significant progress on several fronts." The SEC is encouraged by companies undergoing "a real push to get the numbers right," he said, but the status quo simply isn't acceptable. He argued that industry and specific-company failures are still too common, investors remain skeptical of reporting in general and there remains a prolonged drop in investor confidence. Nicolaisen defended the certification process set up by Sarbanes-Oxley, calling it "a real positive for the capital markets." In fact, he added later that the Act's Section 404 "is the one area that can have a truly lasting impact on financial reporting." |
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