Cutting through the sleaze with computers
Here's a fascinating story of how law enforcement can improve greatly when data reported to the government must be submitted in an interactive format. The campaign contribution and expenditure reports that our state and local politicians file would benefit greatly from such a system.
| Posted at 9:06 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (2)
Oregon is rolling out its new electronic C&E reporting system this spring. It should be a good first step toward accountability and open government.
Don't know how "taggable" and "interactive" it will be (how exactly is data interactive?) but, getting to electronic data and off paper is a big first step.
Posted by Kari Chisholm | February 13, 2007 10:45 AM
Interesting story, and increidbly esoteric.
IIRC, it was NOT the SEC staff who tumbled onto the options back dating scandals, but a previously obscure accountng professor at a university in Iowa who discovered the scam. SEC Chairman Cox gives himself and his staff far too much credit.
It has been private fraud plaintiffs who have done the most work in forcing disgorgement of the executives' ill gotten, board delivered, gains.
That private plaintiff fraud work has provided the only specific deterrent, and the only general deterrent, to the latest corporate insider ripoff scheme.
Its sad that while taking credit for private plaintiffs' work, Cox and the SEC are at the same time doing all they can to prevent prviate plaintiffs from going after the auditors who, asleep at the switch, allow this stuff to go on and on and on.
See, the story in the print edition of he Oregonian today, 13 February, at page C2, which story, curiously doesn't appear in the online Oregonian.
The NY Times covers it at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/washington/13sec.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin
(If it matters to Oregonians, its in the :
(a). New Yourk Times;
(b). Washington Post;
(c). Wall Street Journal;
(d). Vancouver Columbian;
(e). all of the above.
Posted by Nonny Mouse | February 13, 2007 10:53 AM