Zuckerman was joined by senior SEC officials and experts in whistleblowing and corporate compliance:
Jane Norberg Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower, SEC
Alice BrightSky, Senior Director of Compliance Programs, Fordham Law School
Tracey McNeil ’99, Ombudsman, SEC
Jennifer Pacella, Assistant Professor of Law, Zicklin School of Business
Judith Weinstock, Assistant Director, SEC New York Regional Office
Zuckerman discussed the challenges that whistleblowers face in coming forward, including unbalanced power dynamics, and the success of SEC whistleblower incentives in encouraging insiders with knowledge of fraud to come forward.
At the symposium, Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, noted the success of the SEC Whistleblower Program in strengthening the SEC’s enforcement of federal securities laws:
“Whistleblowers provide an invaluable public service, often at great personal and professional sacrifice and peril. I cannot overstate the appreciation that the Office of the Whistleblower staff has and that I personally have for the willingness of whistleblowers to come forward with evidence of possible securities laws violations. Whistleblowers have had a transformative impact on the SEC’s enforcement program, both in terms of the detection of illegal conduct and moving our investigations forward quicker and through the use of fewer resources.”
The symposium addressed a variety of aspects of the SEC Whistleblower Program and the impact of the program on corporate compliance, including:
The role of whistleblowers in protecting investors, including three whistleblowers whose information halted a scheme through which hundreds of investors had fallen victim. Two of the larger SEC whistleblower awards specifically cited the speed with which the whistleblower tip enabled our staff to move and secure funds for harmed investors.
How companies should respond to internal whistleblower disclosures. Note that approximately 80% of recipients of SEC whistleblower awards who were employees raised their concerns internally or were aware that their supervisor was aware of the violation before or at the same time that they reported to the SEC.