Fireside Chat on OCA Among 75th Anniv. Events Sponsored by SEC Historical Society

With this year marking the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a number of special programs are taking place, including some under the aegis of the SEC Historical Society (SECHS), the virtual museum of the SEC.

Tomorrow (Tues. April 21) at 3pm EDT, the SECHS is holding a Fireside Chat on the SEC's Office of the Chief Accountant. The program, webcast by SECHS, will feature John W. ('Jack') Albert, Senior Associate Chief Accountant, of the SEC's Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA), and Professor Gary J. Previts of Case Western Reserve University. Previts is immediate past-President of the American Accounting Association (AAA), and is also a member of Financial Executives International (FEI). The program, moderated by Professor Theresa A. Gabaldon of GW Law School, will focus on a discussion of the work, people and impact of OCA, one of the original offices of the SEC.

As a former member of OCA staff from Dec. 1999-Jan. 2004, I will be very interested in listening to this program; I was hired by then-Chief Accountant Lynn Turner and it's fun to envision him doing a fireside chat by a real fireplace like the one on the cover of Goodnight Moon. Actually, although Turner is not part of the April 21 program, you can read (or listen to) An Interview with Lynn Turner, conducted by Previts, in 2005, part of the SECHS Oral History series. We've mentioned in this blog before that you can read/hear the oral history of SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro, recorded by SECHS in 2005.

The April 21 Fireside chat is among the special programs being held by SECHS in this 75th commemorative year of the SEC (more are listed below). SECHS, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, operates as a virtual museum and archive, and is a treasure trove of information on the SEC. It is separate from and independent of ASECA, the Association of SEC Alumni. David B. H. Martin, a former Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, is currently President of the SECHS, and incoming President James W. Barratt will be sworn in at the SECHS 10th annual meeting on June 4.

SECHS Executive Director Carla L. Rosati tells us, "The SECHS Annual Meeting on June 4 will be video broadcast live on http://www.sechistorical.org beginning at 12:00 noon EDT, free of charge. The topic will be the 'Future of the SEC,' a panel discussion moderated by Joel Seligman, (President of the University of Rochester and formly Dean of the Washington University School of Law) with some of our academic members of the Museum Committee." According to Rosati, "SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro is scheduled to make closing remarks. The broadcast will end at 1:30 pm." Separately, the SECHS June 25 dinner in honor of the SEC's 75th anniversary is sold out, but you can read more about their 75th anniversary programs and events .

Coda: Since SECHS is a 'virtual' museum, and the 75th anniversary dinner is sold out, it wouldn't surprise me to see some people (some bloggers actually) conduct their own virtual program -maybe on Second Life? maybe on CPA Island? or maybe a Tweetup?- in honor of the SEC's 75th anniversary. [Bloggers, you know who you are :) ] I haven't heard of a Lawyer's Island yet...although apparently there is a Second Life Bar Association.

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