SEC Staff Cuts Threaten Company Filing Reviews, Watchdog Says

The SEC staff exodus under President Donald Trump risks hindering efforts to ensure truthful corporate disclosures, unless the regulator works to mitigate brain drain, the agency inspector general’s office has said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has lost 27 of its 299 disclosure review employees since February, according to an Aug. 26 Office of Inspector General report released Wednesday. The agency should prepare for more departures and the loss of institutional knowledge, the IG’s office said. The filing reviewers currently are working with “inconsistent documentation and a lack of comprehensive guidance,” it said.

The SEC should “consider developing a plan ...