| Alex Davern, CFO of National Instruments and chairman of the American Electronics Association's lobbying committee on Sarbox, just ripped the SEC a good one at the 404um, saying it had "failed" in its consideration of reform. And he threw seriously cold water on the idea that investors care about the benefits of better controls by citing new research to come out in the next few weeks showing that the overwhelming majority of institutional investors think they do not outweigh the costs and that microcap companies like those he represents should see much lighter compliance requirements as a result.
Can't argue with the findings he cites. Except for one thing: Unless Davern is willing to say that Joe Retail Investor shouldn't buy micro-cap stocks but should instead only invest through mutual funds, relying on the expertise of institutional analysts such as those surveyed to determine the quality of their earnings, then he's out to lunch.
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