Corporate Disclosure & Fraud

A flurry of corporate scandals (e.g. Enron, Health South, WorldCom, Parmalat, etc) led to the passage of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002. Again. in the wake of the financial crisis the Dodd-Frank Act was passed to place greater controls on financial institutions. However, while penalties have been assessed against institutions, and successful civil suits, penalties and certainly criminal prosecutions of executives at financial institutions that failed, those that sponsored asset–backed securities that defaulted, etc. have been few and far between. And the number of Ponzi–type schemes as run be Bernie Madoff and others appears to still be very high, even with the criminal penalties that have been assessed. Discuss what steps might be taken to ensure that investors are getting accurate and complete information to be able to make intelligent investment decisions.

Please write approximately 350 words to address these questions.  Responses should also be written to generate additional discussion and include individual opinions supported by cited material.  APA format and references must be cited.