William Luther: “Today represents what this Congress can accomplish when we work together in a bipartisan manner. Today this Congress is…”

“Today represents what this Congress can accomplish when we work together in a bipartisan manner. Today this Congress is poised to pass legislation that will go a long way toward restoring the integrity of the equity markets and, consequently, investor confidence in those markets. It took us far too long to get here. In late April, this House passed a bill that represented a start, but was still wholly inadequate in addressing the deficiencies that currently plague corporate auditing and securities regulations. Those deficiencies have now largely been addressed in this Conference Report. By creating a truly independent accounting oversight board, mandating true auditor independence, requiring CEO certification of the accuracy of financial statements, imposing stiff criminal penalties for fraud, and initiating a rulemaking procedure for the conflicts of interest of stock analysts, this Conference Report represents a promising legislative response to jittery investors who understandably have lost faith in the financial information on which they rely. Most importantly, this legislation substantively addresses the type of massive and egregious corporate fraud that has hurt so many ordinary Americans.”