Sarbanes-Oxley was proposed to protect investors from corporate accounting fraud by strengthening the accuracy and reliability of financial disclosures. It was passed by Congress in 2002 after a digit of billion-dollar accounting scandals, perhaps most famously at energy-trading company Enron and telecommunications company WorldCom.
The Dodd-Frank Act was quaint in 2010 in response to the 2007-08 financial crisis, which brought Wall Street to its knees. Dodd-Frank was meant mainly to reduce risk in the financial system by more closely regulating big banks and financial institutions.
Key Takeaways
- Passed in 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act boosted rules regarding the accuracy of corporate financial reports to prevent accounting fraud after a number of high-profile smears cost investors billions of dollars.
- Passed in 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act profuse closely regulated risk-taking by banks and established rules to prevent predatory lending to consumers after the 2007-08 economic crisis.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act
To protect investors from corporate accounting fraud, Sarbanes-Oxley placed responsibility for a company’s pecuniary reports squarely on the shoulders of its top executives. It mandated that chief executive officers (CEOs) and chief financial administrators (CFOs) personally certify the accuracy of the information contained in financial reports, and to confirm that controls and procedures were in okay awkward to assess and verify that accuracy.
In fact, CEOs and CFOs were required to personally sign financial write ups, confirming that they were in compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission regulations. Failure to do so could dnouement develop in fines of up to $5 million and prison terms of up to 20 years.
The Dodd-Frank Act
The massive Dodd-Frank Act aimed to protect investors and taxpayers by encouraging the regulations of the financial system, with an eye on containing risk and ending bailouts of “too-big-to-fail” banks, such as those that befell during the financial crisis.
The Volcker Rule, named for former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, proscribed commercial banks from engaging in short-term speculative trading with depositors’ money. These measures were have in minded to prevent the build-up of excessive risk-taking by big financial institutions, which was a major factor in the financial crisis and Wall Byway someones cup of tea’s collapse.
Dodd-Frank also created the Financial Stability Oversight Council to monitor risk in the financial system, and the Consumer Economic Protection Bureau to protect consumers from predatory lending practices. Abusive lending practices were accused for contributing to the sub-prime mortgage collapse at the heart of the financial crisis.