Catherwood LibraryILR School

In the first of a series of moves that will put California at the forefront of the fight against corporate scandal and fraud, Governor Gray Davis will today announce increases in the maximum penalties for securities fraud from $10 million in fines to $25 million, and from two to five years of imprisonment to five to twenty years. Governor Davis will also announce his appointment of a leading consumer advocate to the state Board of Accountancy regulating the California accounting industry, and the board?s decision to seek the revocation of the accounting license of the scandal tainted Arthur Andersen firm. Furthermore, Davis has indicated that he will sign three bills passed by the State Legislature that will create additional legal barriers to Enron-style document shredding, ensure independent public control of the Board of Accountancy, and decrease incentives for private accounting firms to cover up corporate book-cooking.