The chore of digging into a company’s financial filings and uncovering corporate misconduct is being rewarded by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC announced an award of more than US$2.5 million to whistleblowers who turned their analysis of a company’s financial statements into a tip that led to successful enforcement action.
The regulator said that the tip was largely based on “highly probative independent analysis” of a public company’s filings, and that the whistleblowers also provided assistance early in the investigation.
“Detailed analysis by outsiders of companies can have a significant impact on the enforcement of the federal securities laws,” Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, said in a statement.
“Today’s award demonstrates the commission’s commitment to awarding individuals who provide high quality independent analysis that leads to successful enforcement actions,” Norberg added.
So far this year, the SEC has paid out US$123 million to 25 whistleblowers.
In total, the SEC has now issued approximately US$510 million in awards to 92 tipsters since introducing its program of paying for enforcement tips in 2012.