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Technology Stocks : Information Architects (IARC): E-Commerce & EIP -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Probity who wrote (9071)	12/3/1998 1:01:00 AM
From: MACA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10786

YOU WANT TO READ A REAL JOKE, AND THESE IDIOTS ARE SUPPOSE TO GUIDE OTHER COMPANIES INTO FIXING THEIR CODE ON TIME. THEY'RE ACTUALLY FINING COMPANIES FOR NOT MAKING DEADLINES, SOMEONE SHOULD FINE THEIR ASSES. SEC Faces 'Difficulties' With Y2K Plans, Inspector General Says Washington, December 2(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is pushing the securities industry to get its computers ready for the Year 2000, has had trouble preparing its own systems for the next millennium. Walter Stachnik, the SEC inspector general, said the commission is ''having difficulties'' resolving the Year 2000 challenge because of reorganization problems at the Office of Information Technology, the SEC unit responsible for the job. ''Although the commission is making substantial efforts to ensure that its information systems are Year 2000 compliant, it remains a significant problem,'' Stachnik said in his latest semi- annual report to Congress. The report covers SEC efforts through last August. Under a scenario outlined by some computer experts, a software problem could cause many computers to read the Year 2000 as 1900 at the start of the new century, causing problems for everything from airplanes to coffee pots. The stakes are high for the SEC, which relies on computers not only for tasks like tracking enforcement cases, but also for the disclosure of public documents on its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System, known as ''Edgar.'' The U.S. Office of Management and Budget wanted all federal agencies to compile information about likely sources of Year 2000 glitches by last February, and to coordinate the transition with outside users of their systems by last March. Stachnik, the SEC inspector general, said in a telephone interview that as of the end of August the commission ''wasn't meeting those deadlines.'' Brokerages Cited The commission has cracked down on brokerages that didn't meet its schedule on Year 2000 computer readiness in the securities industry. In October, the SEC brought 37 cases against brokerages that missed a deadline for required reports on their progress in addressing the computer problem. Nineteen of these brokerages negotiated settlements with the agency and paid fines that ranged from $5,000 to $25,000. For federal agencies, the OMB wanted all government computer systems overhauled by September. It also wants each agency to check the new systems for bugs by January, and to have them running by March -- though these dates are only recommended targets rather than deadlines. The SEC's Stachnik said he doesn't know if the SEC made the recommended September deadline or is likely to meet the January and March ones. SEC spokesman Chris Ullman declined to answer questions about the OMB's target dates, saying the SEC had earlier set a target for next July. Compliance Expected ''The commission established a time frame for Y2K remediation well before OMB established its time frame,'' Ullman said. ''We fully expect to be Y2K compliant by our original target date of July 1999.'' A spokesman at the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, which handles inquiries to OMB on the subject, didn't know if the SEC is on its recommended schedule. The main problem the agency has with retooling for 2000, Stachnik said, are ''long-standing weaknesses'' at its Office of Information Technology. Efforts to address the problem ''are complicated by the ongoing reorganization and operational problems'' in that office, the inspector general's report said. Past audits show that Stachnik urged this office to clarify its written policies; beef up controls over who's allowed to alter the data base, clarify who's responsible for Edgar, and hire an outside consultant. One of Stachnik's 1997 audits also urged the office to improve its Year 2000 computer plan by including ''specific tasks and milestones for completion.'' The information office is reorganizing to address these weaknesses, Stachnik said. Conducting the reorganization and taking care of the Year 2000 bug at the same time is stretching the operation thin, he said. The efforts also are complicated by continuing work to redesign the Edgar electronic filing system and replace some of its coding. The SEC's computer experts say it doesn't make sense to start testing Edgar for Year 2000 compliance until that work is finished, Stachnik said. The commission is not the only federal agency that's having problems, Stachnik said. As of Aug. 15, according to the most recent OMB report on the subject, seven other agencies - including the Pentagon, the Energy Department, and the State Department - were ''not making adequate progress,'' while another eight were having problems. 18:05:35 12/02/1998