Recent pronouncements made by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) leadership, alongside the recent overhaul of the SEC Enforcement Manual, collectively signal a back-to-basics enforcement approach that appears beneficial for companies in their dealings with the agency.

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...