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Journal of Accounting and Economics Vol. 71 No. 1 2021

On the SEC's 2010 enforcement cooperation program

Andrew J. Leone1; Edward Xuejun Li2; Michelle Liu3

1 Northwestern University · 2 Baruch College · 3 Hunter College

Abstract

This study examines changes in SEC enforcement and firm cooperation after the SEC introduced its new cooperation program in 2010. While previous research shows that the SEC penalized cooperative firms prior to 2010, our results suggest that after that year, it rewarded cooperation, especially good faith actions. We also find that after 2010, the SEC increased mentions of cooperation in public speeches and publicized more details about firm cooperative activities in AAERs. Finally, we find some evidence that misconduct firms increased good faith cooperation after the SEC revised its cooperation program in 2010. Our findings suggest that having a more explicit leniency program improves its effectiveness.

DOI
10.1016/j.jacceco.2020.101355
Volume
71
Issue
1
Pages
101355
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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