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David Finkel, Craig E. Wills, Brian Brennan and Chris Brennan
Describes a system for using the World Wide Web to distribute computational tasks to multiple hosts on the Web. A programmer with a computation to distribute registers it with a…
Abstract
Describes a system for using the World Wide Web to distribute computational tasks to multiple hosts on the Web. A programmer with a computation to distribute registers it with a Web server. An idle host uses this server to identify available computations and downloads a Java class to perform the computation ‐ we call this class a distriblet. The paper describes the programs written to carry out the load distribution, the structure of a distriblet class, and our experience in using this system.
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Brian Rubin and Amy Xu
To analyze how the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sanctioned broker-dealers (BDs) and registered investment advisers (RIAs) when cybersecurity breaches have…
Abstract
Purpose
To analyze how the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sanctioned broker-dealers (BDs) and registered investment advisers (RIAs) when cybersecurity breaches have occurred and to discuss whether the SEC is imposing a strict liability approach.
Design/methodology/approach
Describes the cyber-attack of a small RIA, the remedial steps the RIA took after the attack, the SEC’s enforcement action, why this particular case is noteworthy, and the case’s implications for RIAs and BDs.
Findings
RIAs and perhaps BDs may face strict liability from the SEC if they are victims of cybersecurity attacks.
Practical implications
Firms may want to address the likelihood of an SEC enforcement action if a breach occurs by reviewing recent enforcement actions, SEC reports and statements, and FINRA reports and statements.
Originality/value
Discusses the possible future of SEC enforcement actions regarding cybersecurity breaches.
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Brian L. Rubin, Carmen L. Brun, Jaliya Stewart Faulkner, Michael K. Freedman, Kurt Lentz and Jae C. Yoon
The purpose of this paper us to summarize the remarks of the Commissioners and participants in several panel sessions and workshops during the 2013 annual “SEC Speaks” conference…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper us to summarize the remarks of the Commissioners and participants in several panel sessions and workshops during the 2013 annual “SEC Speaks” conference held by the Practising Law Institute in cooperation with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, discussing the SEC's accomplishments in 2012 and its agenda for 2013.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper summarizes remarks by Chairman Walter and Commissioners Aguilar, Paredes, and Gallagher; provides highlights from panel sessions and workshops concerning the Division of Corporation Finance, the Division of Trading and Markets, the Division of Enforcement, the Division of Investment Management, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations as well as highlights from the panel sessions relating to Accounting, Risk, Strategy and Financial Innovation. Judicial and Legislative Developments, and Ethics.
Findings
The summaries provide an overview of the SEC's most important current rulemaking, projects and policy priorities.
Originality/value
The paper presents current SEC issues and developments addressed by experienced SEC lawyers.
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Deborah G. Heilizer, Brian L. Rubin and Shanyn L. Gillespie
The purpose of the paper is to summarize a review of all of FINRA's 2009 notices and releases to understand the areas in which FINRA has focused and to try to predict where FINRA…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to summarize a review of all of FINRA's 2009 notices and releases to understand the areas in which FINRA has focused and to try to predict where FINRA may be going in the coming year.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper summarizes fines, disciplinary actions, and top enforcement issues; analyzes trends; and draws conclusions.
Findings
FINRA reported modest increases in fines and disciplinary actions compared to 2008; however, FINRA was less active than in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The types of cases that generated the most fines, in descending order, were mutual funds, suitability, variable products, licensing, and advertising. One may see more advertising, money laundering, an electronic communications cases in the near future. Given the recent financial crisis and market scandals, and resulting pressure on the regulators, it is perhaps more likely that FINRA's enforcement activity and fines will increase over the next few years, not decrease.
Originality/value
The paper provides expert guidance from experienced financial services lawyers.
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Deborah G. Heilizer, Brian L. Rubin and Andrew M. McCormick
The paper's aim is to describe a recent increase in FINRA enforcement activity and to discuss how broker‐dealers and representatives may want to prepare themselves for FINRA's…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper's aim is to describe a recent increase in FINRA enforcement activity and to discuss how broker‐dealers and representatives may want to prepare themselves for FINRA's increasing willingness to sanction members in the wake of the recent financial crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyzes FINRA's recent enforcement record, including trends over the past several years in disciplinary actions and fines. It also discusses FINRA's top enforcement issues in 2011; advertising, short selling, auction rate securities, and suitability; and recommends increased compliance efforts in light of FINRA's growing aggressiveness.
Findings
It is important that firms and representatives understand how the priorities of this self‐regulatory organization have changed since the financial crisis, fueling this recent growth in FINRA enforcement activity.
Originality/value
The paper offers practical guidance from experienced financial services lawyers.
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Brian Rubin and Andrew M. McCormick
– To analyze the cases and sanctions FINRA reported in 2014 and prior years to evaluate what issues may be important for broker-dealers and their representatives in the future.
Abstract
Purpose
To analyze the cases and sanctions FINRA reported in 2014 and prior years to evaluate what issues may be important for broker-dealers and their representatives in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
This article discusses the overall statistics for cases reported by FINRA in 2014 and then focuses on the top enforcement issues for FINRA and some of the key cases. All of this analysis includes a comparison to enforcement statistics from prior years to help identify potential trends.
Findings
This article concludes that 2014 was a blockbuster year for FINRA as the fines imposed by the regulator increased by 125 per cent. This article also finds that while FINRA is still focusing on many of the same issues as before, including advertising and trade reporting, other issues, such as anti-money laundering, received a significant spike in attention in 2014.
Originality/value
This article contains valuable information about recent FINRA enforcement activity and practical guidance from experienced securities lawyers.
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Brian L. Rubin and Christian J. Cannon
The purpose of this paper is to determine with statistics whether respondents should litigate or settle enforcement actions with the SEC or FINRA.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine with statistics whether respondents should litigate or settle enforcement actions with the SEC or FINRA.
Design/methodology/approach
All SEC administrative and FINRA litigated decisions from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008 were reviewed to see, among other things, how often the staff succeeded in proving its charges and, when it did, what penalties were sought and awarded. The approach is empirical, designed to inject meaningful quantitative data into the decision of whether to litigate.
Findings
The research shows, among other things, that respondents rarely win on liability but are usually successful in persuading SEC ALJs or FINRA panels to impose substantially lower sanctions than the staff sought.
Research limitations/implications
The primary limitation is that it is usually not known what terms were offered to settle cases by the staff prior to the complaint being filed.
Practical implications
The implication is that respondents in SEC and FINRA cases should consider more carefully whether to litigate rather than settle.
Originality/value
The statistics in the study are new and provide new evidence confirming prior years' studies. Any potential SEC or FINRA respondent would be interested in the statistics presented here.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the accounting research project concerned with accounting narrative obfuscation, focusing on the translation of the concept of readability…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the accounting research project concerned with accounting narrative obfuscation, focusing on the translation of the concept of readability from educational psychology via an earlier literature concerned with the readability of accounting narratives per se.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses actor-network theory and examines, in particular, the need for a network to accommodate the interests of its actors and the consequent risk of failure.
Findings
The analysis shows that the project is failing because the network seeking to support it is failing, and failing because of its inability to adapt sufficiently to accommodate the interests of its constituents. This failure is contrasted with the earlier concern with readability per se, which did see a successful reconfiguration of actors’ interests.
Research limitations/implications
The puzzle of the maladjustment of the network concerned with obfuscation is examined and it is suggested that it is a consequence of interests prevailing in the wider academic research network within which the relevant human actors are embedded.
Social implications
The reasons for the failure of the project are bound up in the wider circumstances of the contemporary accounting research community and may affect scholars’ capacity to pursue knowledge effectively.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to a modest stream of actor–network analysis directed at accounting research itself.