The SEC announced that Mark Kronforst has been named chief accountant of the Division of Corporation Finance. See: SEC Press Release.

SIFMA President Ken Bentsen testified today before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on the potential impact of a U.S. debt default on financial stability and economic growth. In his testimony, Mr. Bentsen called on the Congress and the Administration to come together to "put our fiscal house in order." He stated that U.S. debt obligations are the currency of the global financial market and their soundness should not be questioned. He asserted that a short-term failure to fulfill America's financial obligations would impair market operations. He noted that markets have

FINRA filed with the SEC a proposed rule change to amend FINRA Rule 7230B ("Trade Report Input") to allow FINRA members to use the FINRA/NYSE Trade Reporting Facility ("TRF") to transfer transaction fees charged by one member to another on trades reported to the FINRA/NYSE TRF. See: Text of the Proposed Rule Change.

SEC Associate Director of Enforcement Steven L. Cohen delivered a speech at the SCCE Annual Conference in which he focused on the importance of strong compliance programs at firms and steps that the SEC is taking to support robust compliance programs. Mr. Cohen emphasized the significant role that compliance programs play in a post-Dodd-Frank world. He stated that compliance professionals are at the "epicenter" of daily business decisions that could pose a significant risk to companies and financial markets. Mr. Cohen explained that one of his greatest concerns regarding compliance is that

According to the NASAA 2013 Coordinated Investment Adviser Examination Report, there is little difference in the type or frequency of deficiencies between existing state investment advisers and those advisers who switched from federal to state oversight as a result of Dodd-Frank. Under Dodd-Frank, about 2,100 mid-sized investment advisers with assets under management between $30 million and $100 million switched from federal to state oversight earlier this year. State securities examiners report sample data from their investment adviser examinations to NASAA's Investment Adviser Operations