SEC Examinations - Practical Tips on How to Defend Yourself

Why Should You Attend:

In the current political and regulatory environment, government oversight activities are at an all-time high. The SEC’s exam program has become increasingly aggressive.

In order to properly defend themselves in an SEC examination, company officials and compliance officers need to understand the history of the SEC exam program, its recent challenges, how the SEC exam program currently operates, what are the internal incentives within the exam program, and they must be up to date on its most recent initiatives. The SEC has recently released its 2016 exam priorities and will also be shortly advancing its second round of cybersecurity exams. Understanding these priorities is crucial to surviving an SEC exam with minimal repercussions.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• The SEC 2016 Exam Priorities
• History of SEC Examination Challenges
• SEC Examination Trends Over Time
• SEC’s Increasing Focus on Cybersecurity
• How Best to Prepare for SEC Examinations
• How to Deal with Difficult Examiners
• Methods of Challenging Findings in Examinations
• How to Encourage a Suitable Conclusion to the Examination

Who Will Benefit:

• Chief Compliance Officers
• General Counsel
• Broker-Dealers
• Investment Advisers
• CEOs and Senior Management Officials of Small to Mid-size Firms
• Operational Managers
• Staff with Roles and Responsibilities in Compliance Departments.

Instructor Profile:

H. David Kotz presently serves as a managing director at Berkeley Research Group, a leading global expert services and consulting firm. Mr. Kotz focuses on internal investigations and matters relating to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Anti-Money Laundering regulations. He also serves as a compliance monitor for firms that have entered into deferred prosecution agreements and similar arrangements with government agencies. He also serves as an expert witness in litigation matters relating to securities regulation, compliance, and the identification of fraud.

Prior to Berkeley Research Group, he served for over 4 years as the Inspector General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). During his tenure at the SEC, he authored the landmark, widely publicized report investigating the failure of the SEC to uncover Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Mr. Kotz also authored numerous high-profile reports of investigation while at the SEC concerning, among others, a $7 billion alleged Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Allen Stanford, an SEC settlement of enforcement action against Bank of America, and alleged SEC coordination with Congress and the White House concerning the timing of the bringing of an enforcement action against Goldman Sachs & Co.

In addition, he authored a landmark audit report analyzing the SEC’s oversight of Bear Stearns and the reasons for its collapse. He has testified before Congress, including televised appearances before the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee regarding the Madoff and Stanford Ponzi schemes. He also previously served as Inspector General of the Peace Corps.

His most recent book, entitled, “Financial Regulation and Compliance – How to Manage Competing and Overlapping Regulatory Oversight” was published by Wiley in 2015.

Topic Background:

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) administers the SEC’s nationwide examination and inspection program. Examiners in Washington DC and in the SEC’s 11 regional offices conduct examinations of the nation's registered entities, including broker-dealers, transfer agents, investment advisers, investment companies, municipal advisors, the national securities exchanges, clearing agencies, Self- Regulatory Organizations (SROs) such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The SEC’s examination program has become increasingly aggressive and new priorities have been enacted that must be understood and analyzed.

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