Washington, D.C., March 10, 2011 — An independent consultant today presented Congress with a report examining the organization and operations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as required by Section 967 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The consultant, the Boston Consulting Group, focused its attention on four broad areas: organization structure, personnel and resources, technology and resources, and the SEC's relationship with self-regulatory organizations.
In response to the report, SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro issued the following statement:
<"I welcome today's report and the analysis performed by the consultant.
"I am pleased that the report recognizes the many initiatives we have taken over the past two years to increase the agency's efficiency and effectiveness. Yet, I know there is more to be done.
"Importantly, the report of the independent consultant confirms the concerns I have been expressing that the SEC does not have the resources to perform all the activities expected of us.
"As the report notes, despite the growth of our responsibilities and market complexities, the SEC's resources have not kept pace. This capacity gap places our markets and America's investors at risk.
"I believe that investors need an SEC with added staff and better technology to properly police Wall Street.
"The independent consultant's report offers valuable recommendations that will help us improve SEC operations and market oversight. In fact, I am immediately undertaking the following first steps:
I plan to ask for the authority to expand the responsibility and strengthen the authority of our Chief Operating Officer by moving under him all of the functions that currently report to our Office of the Executive Director.
I also have assigned to our COO the responsibility for leading a series of working groups that are being created to address each of the report's recommendations. He, along with other members of our senior leadership team, will ensure that we report to Congress and the public on our progress.
"These are significant steps, but they will not be our last. In the coming months we will report back to Congress on the other steps we will be taking to effectively and efficiently fulfill our market oversight and investor protection mission."