Dave Michaels files before the New Year rings in and it's a humdinger! In the future when you see those big headlines about SEC record fines, maybe you'll be a bit more skeptical.
The issue here is judicial accounts receivable vs financial statement accounts receivable. SEC fines are like IRS tax accounts receivable. It sits there with the potential to be collected but for accounting reasons does not show up in the financial statements.
The statement that bothered me the most was the one on stating the annual write-off is hard to find. That points to a failure in FASAB standards. It should be clear from reading the financial statements.
The IRS also collects judicial accounts receivable. I wonder if they do a better job the SEC. Perhaps the government should centralize debt collection regardless of source. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service already does this for some debts.
The issue here is judicial accounts receivable vs financial statement accounts receivable. SEC fines are like IRS tax accounts receivable. It sits there with the potential to be collected but for accounting reasons does not show up in the financial statements.
The statement that bothered me the most was the one on stating the annual write-off is hard to find. That points to a failure in FASAB standards. It should be clear from reading the financial statements.
The IRS also collects judicial accounts receivable. I wonder if they do a better job the SEC. Perhaps the government should centralize debt collection regardless of source. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service already does this for some debts.