Philip Livingston

President George W. Bush this week appointed Laura S. Unger as Acting Chair of the SEC, temporarily ending rampant media speculation about Arthur Levitt's replacement. However, a permanent successor has yet to be named.

"With global capital markets coming into being, the importance of our markets is higher than ever," Philip Livingston, president and chief executive of Financial Executives International, said in an interview prior to Unger's appointment. "Who leads the SEC is going to be really important."

Livingston identified many key issues FEI would like the next SEC chair to address.

"We'd like to see support and continued movement toward global accounting standards," he noted. And, FEI members hope the incoming chair will take "a fresh look at the massive disclosure requirements in 10Ks and 10Qs."

"(The forms) have nearly become obsolete because the disclosure regulations have just been piled on, one on top of another," he added. "We need a more user-friendly, concise reporting format."

Corporate execs would also like to see the SEC embrace the use of the Internet for fillings and the public disclosure of documents, he said. Another item on FEI's SEC agenda is increased reliance on enforcement actions and less reliance on additional regulations. Instead of creating a whole new body of regulations, Livingston said the SEC should look at isolated cases and enforce the existing rules.

"We'd like to see the SEC speak with one voice," he said. "It's been hard to know what to expect (from the Commission)."

Finally, Livingston said the group wants "a clearer agenda and more consistency in communication."

-- By Melissa Klein

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