March 9, 2010
Our New Regulator? The “National Institute of Finance”
As we all anxiously await for Senator Dodd’s draft financial markets reform bill – expected this week – and find out what survived the behind-the-doors horsetrading, I thought I’d not that for a while now, as noted in this Business Week article, a Committee has been pushing to create a new “National Institute of Finance,” which would be an independent research institute that would support the existing federal agencies that deal with financial institutions. Now that dream is coming closer to reality as Senate Bill S.3005 was introduced recently by Sen. Jack Reed for just that purpose. Here is Senator Reed’s statement.
I agree that the federal agencies need to better coordinate – but creating an entirely new agency to serve as the back office seems like it will create waste and turf wars. Better to build up the research capabilities of the existing agencies IMHO. Not to mention that I can’t bear the thought of a federal agency with “Institute” in the name. Sounds straight out of a cartoon…
Security of Board Communications
In this podcast, Kris Veaco of the Veaco Group runs down some frequently-asked questions about how to keep board communication secure, including:
– For hard-copy board materials, what methods of delivery are used and are considered “secure” (i.e., Fedex, courier service, etc.)? Should a signature be required for home deliveries?
– Regarding electronic delivery of board materials, what are the security risks of using regular e-mail, and what are some more secure electronic delivery alternatives (i.e., board portals, e-mail encryption, encrypted CDs or flash drives, etc.)?
– For board/committee teleconferences, how do you ensure a teleconference system is secure?
– Should a board have an informal policy about directors e-mailing each other and with management?
Poll: Do You Remember the “Big 8” Audit Firms?
With the consolidation of the auditing profession now far in the rear mirror, I thought I poll on the identities of the “Big 8” audit firms – which were indeed the primary eight firms for most of the 20th century, until they became the “Big 6” after 1989 – was in order. See if you can pick five of the “Big 8” in the poll below – in other words, only five of the ten listed in the poll were part of the “Big 8” and you will only be able to make five selections:
– Broc Romanek