Securities and Exchange Commission
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Who We Are |
Mission:
The mission of the SEC is to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation.
Organization:
The SEC is an independent federal agency established pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act). It is headed by a bipartisan five-member Commission, comprised of the Chairman and four Commissioners, who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Chairman serves as the chief executive officer. The SEC is organized into four main divisions: Corporation Finance, Enforcement, Investment Management, and Trading and Markets as well as several offices directly supporting the SEC?s mission. The SEC?s headquarters are in Washington, D.C., and it has 11 regional offices located throughout the country. The Department's Organizational Chart is available at http://www.sec.gov/images/secorg.pdf.
Personnel: At September 30, 2008, the agency employed 3,511 Full-time Equivalents (FTE), including 3,442 permanent and 69 temporary FTE. Budgetary Resources: In Fiscal Year (FY) 2008, the SEC received budget authority of $906 million consisting of current-year offsetting collections in the amount of $843 million plus $63 million in funds carried over from prior fiscal years. |
Budget Snapshot |
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Performance Snapshot |
Accomplishments:
During FY 2008 the SEC moved aggressively in four main areas: investigating and prosecuting violations of the securities laws; releasing accounting and disclosure guidance to uncover hidden risk; using recent authority granted by Congress to regulate credit rating agencies; and using emergency and permanent rulemaking authority to maintain orderly markets. The SEC undertook the second highest number of enforcement actions in agency history, returning approximately $1 billion to harmed investors through Disgorgement and Fair Fund distributions. Due to the aggressive and sustained efforts of SEC staff, approximately 74 percent of the agency?s planned performance levels were either met or exceeded in FY 2008, about 18 percentage points greater than the FY 2007 performance level.
Challenges: The subprime mortgage crisis and ensuing global credit crunch during the past year have confronted the securities markets with unprecedented challenges. Regulatory gaps need to be filled in order to help the federal government and the public fully assess the risks in these areas. The SEC will continue to use the full extent of its authority to respond to the market turmoil by, among other things, prosecuting violations of the securities laws; coordinating closely with domestic and foreign regulators; and enhancing disclosures for investors, particularly through the use of technology. |
$ in millions
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Summary of Securities and Exchange Commission Ratings for Fiscal Year 2008
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Strategic Goal:
Promote healthy capital markets through an effective and flexible regulatory environment
The savings and investments of every American are dependent upon healthy capital markets. The Commission seeks to sustain an effective and flexible regulatory environment that will facilitate innovation, competition, and capital formation to ensure that our economy can continue to grow and create jobs for our nation?s future. Enhancing the productivity of America is a key goal that the SEC works to achieve by increasing investor confidence in the capital markets. |
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2008 Actual = $59
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Performance Measure(s)* | 2006 Results | 2007 Results | 2008 Target | 2008 Results | 2009 Target |
Percentage of Self-Regulatory Organization rule filings closed in less than 60 days from filing | 84% | 82% | 75% | 86% | 78% |
Strategic Goal:
Foster informed investment decision making
An educated investing public ultimately provides the best defense against fraud and costly mistakes. The Commission works to promote informed investment decisions through two main approaches: reviewing disclosures of companies and mutual funds to ensure that clear, complete, and accurate information is available to investors; and implementing a variety of investor education initiatives. |
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2008 Actual = $126
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Performance Measure(s)* | 2006 Results | 2007 Results | 2008 Target | 2008 Results | 2009 Target |
Percentage of Public Companies reviewed by the SEC | 33% | 36% | 33% | 38% | 33% |
Strategic Goal:
Maximize the use of SEC resources
The investing public and the securities markets are best served by an efficient, well-managed, and proactive SEC. The Commission strives to improve its organizational effectiveness by making sound investments in human capital and new technologies, and by enhancing internal controls. |
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2008 Actual = $71
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Performance Measure(s)* | 2006 Results | 2007 Results | 2008 Target | 2008 Results | 2009 Target |
Number of GAO information security-related recommendations outstanding for more than 18 months | N/A | 11 | 2 | 6 | 0 |