The ROBS Act

[Octafish]

14. One JOBS Act provision allows companies to iron out disagreements with SEC regulators in secret.

It's hard to make this stuff up.

In Wake of Groupon Issues, Critics Wary of JOBS Act

By MICHAEL RAPOPORT
Wall Street Journal

A little-noticed provision in the new JOBS Act would allow companies to iron out disagreements with regulators behind closed doors before they go public—a provision that might have prevented investors from finding out about Groupon Inc.'s GRPN -2.05% early accounting questions until after they had been resolved.

The provision, part of the bill passed by Congress and expected to be signed by President Barack Obama this week, would enable companies to submit confidential drafts of their initial-public-offering documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission before they file publicly.

Critics say that measure would allow a company like Groupon, which had well-publicized disagreements with the SEC over its accounting last year, to resolve such issues under the radar, without investors learning of them until later although still before any IPO.

SNIP...

"I find it amazing that Congress would allow any firm to work behind closed doors on any accounting or auditing issue," said J. Edward Ketz, an associate professor of accounting at Penn State University. "We learned a long time ago that sunshine is the best antiseptic."

CONTINUED...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304023504577317932455874856.html

PS: You are most welcome, Uncle Joe. I very much appreciate that you give a damn about justice.