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Technology Stocks : GX Investors Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Selectric II who wrote (525)	2/5/2002 2:50:20 PM
From: MSI	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 586

Ho ho !... to check the record and get the facts straight, Selectric II, check out what was written by CFO.COM back in January, 2001 when Levitt was removed by Bush. I especially like the last paragraph, which I'll reprint at the top here. Notice -- who it is doing the talking... recognize the name?: "Those who clashed with Levitt are not necessarily looking to turn back the clock on his initiatives, though they would welcome a Republican-dominated SEC with more emphasis on deregulation and private-sector solutions. "We don't need rules to tell us how to behave," says Joe Berardino, a managing partner with Arthur Andersen LLP." cfo.com "SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Adios Arthur With the arrival of a new President comes the widely anticipated end of Arthur Levitt's nearly eight-year tenure at the helm of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Serving longer as SEC chairman than anyone in history, and at a time of dramatic challenges in the financial markets, Levitt pursued an activist, investor-oriented agenda that often antagonized Wall Street players and corporate executives alike, not to mention Sen. Phil Gramm (RTex.), the influential chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. So, how well will his initiatives stand up with a new Administration in the White House? "Levitt's legacy is a strong one," says John F. Olson, a securities lawyer at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Washington, D.C. "He was an effective politician in articulating priorities, moving his programs forward and getting changes made. Sometimes he could be tough on people, but after they softened, he negotiated reasonable compromises." That was certainly true of his reforms of Nasdaq and municipal bond markets early in his tenure, as well as his recent efforts to strengthen audit committees and stop leaks of important corporate news to favored analysts and investors. And those skills were perhaps never more on display than in his pursuit of rules to enhance auditor independence. For much of last year, the Big Five accounting firms were at odds with the SEC over its plans to severely limit the consulting work an accounting firm can do for an audit client. Both sides agreed to more lenient terms in mid-November, but Levitt dismisses the charge that he caved in by requiring only an increase in corporate reporting of consulting services and fees. "The outcome is consistent with the commission's technique of using full and fair disclosure to allow investors to make better judgments," he told CFO. Those who clashed with Levitt are not necessarily looking to turn back the clock on his initiatives, though they would welcome a Republican-dominated SEC with more emphasis on deregulation and private-sector solutions. "We don't need rules to tell us how to behave," says Joe Berardino, a managing partner with Arthur Andersen LLP. -- Stephen Barr