The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced the Division of Enforcement’s results for fiscal year 2022, the first full year for the Division under the leadership of both Chair Gary Gensler and Director of Enforcement Gurbir Grewal.
Results were up from the year before, with a record $4.2 billion in civil penalties reflecting the agency’s goal to see penalties “recalibrated” upward across the board. With several blockbuster corporate settlements, the SEC continued to focus on traditional areas such as investment advisers, broker-dealers, and issuer accounting and disclosure, while also prioritizing individual accountability and suits against “gatekeepers” such as auditors and lawyers. The past year has also been notable for the SEC’s willingness to impose third-party compliance consultants, often with broad mandates, to oversee entity-level improvements. Our analysis of the SEC’s enforcement results provides indications of where the agency may focus in the year to come.
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This memo was republished by Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance.