The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to fine Nortel Networks Corp. for accounting fraud in the first test of a policy that gives the agency's commissioners more say in corporate penalties, Bloomberg News reported Friday citing four people with direct knowledge of the matter.
SEC attorneys got the commissioners' approval last month to seek a fine of less than $100 million from Nortel, North America's largest telephone-equipment maker, according to one of the people, who declined to be identified because the decision isn't public. Staff lawyers previously could negotiate settlements without having to obtain permission in advance, Bloomberg News reported.
The case may provide a sign of what penalties to expect from the SEC amid concerns that Chairman Christopher Cox is favoring companies at the expense of investors. Fines for accounting fraud varied under the SEC's old policy, Bloomberg News reported.
-New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants
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