BSLW1170 · Business Law

Securities Regulation

Carroll School of Management

Securities Regulation is the study of how the government regulates financial markets and their participants, whether a start-up seeking capital through a Kickstarter campaign, a multi-national public company disclosing news to its shareholders, or an investment banker advising a company in its IPO. The course focuses upon the key federal statutes that regulate securities and participants in the securities markets: Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and several criminal statues. The students learn the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission and how the SEC will impact securities markets and their participants. The course covers the multitude of methods for raising capital within the confines of the Securities Act and the J.O.B.S. Act. Students learn how executives of public companies, and their auditors, lawyers, and bankers, decide when and how to make disclosures about the company. The course also examines financial scams and fraud, considering the ethical boundaries of the complex, fast-paced financial world. The class hosts guests ranging from SEC enforcement attorneys, to in-house counsel at a large bank, to defense counsel with specialties in insider trading and white-collar crime, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the Bernie Madoff case. The class is intended for students interested in careers in finance, audit, leadership in public companies, or law.