Call me strange, but one of the things I do in the dog days of summer each year is review recent Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases (AAERs) issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For more than 30 years, the SEC has issued AAERs at the conclusion of an investigation against a company, a corporate executive, or an auditor for alleged accounting, financial reporting, or audit misconduct. Each AAER describes in detail the issues addressed in the investigation, the nature of the asserted misconduct by the individuals targeted by the investigation, and the terms of any settlement of the charges and sanctions imposed by the SEC.
