Abstract The article describes the activities of the Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA) at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the role of the Academic Accounting Fellow at the SEC. The author served as Academic Accounting Fellow from August 1994 to August 1995. The Chief Accountant is the principal adviser to the SEC on accounting and auditing matters. These matters primarily concern compliance with the financial reporting requirements of the Federal securities laws. The SEC has explicit statutory authority to establish accounting standards for use by public companies. Activities in the rule making area include the development of accounting, auditing or disclosure requirements applicable to public companies and their auditors. The OCA considers the treatment proposed by a public company for specific transaction to assure compliance with relevant professional literature and Commissions requirements and to ensure that the public company's presentation provides adequate and relevant information to investors.
Thomas J. Linsmeier (Sun,) studied this question.