SEC 'Still Struggling' With Advisor Exam Rate

Cybersecurity will continue to be a focus for OCIE, specifically around the areas of governance and risk assessment and data loss prevention, and with an emphasis on cybersecurity measures of advisors with multiple branch offices.

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton noted at the SEC Speaks event that for fiscal 2019, the agency's current fiscal year, employee pay and benefits are expected to continue to account "for a significant portion of our appropriation."

As a result of a hiring freeze, commission staffing is down more than 400 authorized positions compared with fiscal year 2016, Clayton said.

"To ensure we can continue to meet our mission objectives, the resources Congress provided the agency for fiscal year 2019 will allow us to lift the hiring freeze and add 100 much-needed positions. This would put our staffing level on par with where we were five years ago."

Technology expenditures at the commission "have increased in total dollars and as a percentage of the total budget over the last five years," Clayton stated, with this "a direct result of our commitment to maintaining and upgrading our information technology systems and enhancing the agency's cybersecurity and risk management."

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