SEC sanctions total a record $3.4 billion in FY 2013

SEC enforcement actions resulted in a record $3.4 billion in monetary sanctions in fiscal year 2013, the commission announced Tuesday.

The total was 10% higher than in FY 2012 and 22% higher than in FY 2011, when the SEC filed the most actions in agency history. The SEC filed 686 enforcement actions in FY 2013, fewer than in FY 2012 (734) or FY 2011 (735). The SEC’s fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

“Numbers tell only a part of the story as we look to bring high-quality enforcement actions that make an impact across the market,” Andrew Ceresney, co-director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said in a news release.

For the third straight year, investment advisers and investment companies were the most common subjects of SEC enforcement, with 140 actions taken against them. Delinquent filings, with 132 actions, were the second most common activity targeted for SEC enforcement.

The number of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions dropped to five, down from 15 in 2012 and 20 in 2011.

SEC enforcement by fiscal year

* FCPA was separated as a distinct category beginning in 2011.
** Before FY 2011, this category was called Issuer Reporting and Disclosure and included FCPA actions.

—Ken Tysiac (ktysiac@aicpa.org) is a JofA senior editor.