Accountants Make Miserable Policemen: Rethinking Federal Securities Laws

89 Pages Posted: 16 Jun 2010 Last revised: 24 Jun 2010

See all articles by Jerry W. Markham

Jerry W. Markham

Florida International University (FIU) - College of Law

Date Written: 2003

Abstract

This Article describes the background of the federal securities laws and the assumptions about full disclosure that where made to justify the intrusive legislation. It also considers the problems encountered by the SEC in the nearly seven decades that have passed since the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and then reviews the market meltdown over the last three years and describes how full disclosure regulation failed. Finally, the author focuses on a principal flaw in the system – the misguided effort to turn accountants into policeman.

Keywords: Stock Market Crash of 1929, securities, derivatives trading, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (GLBA), Glass-Steagall Act, Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA), derivative instruments, retail markets, global markets, full disclosure

Suggested Citation

Markham, Jerry W., Accountants Make Miserable Policemen: Rethinking Federal Securities Laws (2003). North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation, Vol. 28, 2003, Florida International University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 10-21, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1625502

Jerry W. Markham (Contact Author)

Florida International University (FIU) - College of Law ( email )

11200 SW 8th St.
RDB Hall 1097
Miami, FL 33199
United States

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