One of the reasons that companies can fail or be pulled from the stock market is evidence of fraud. Increasingly, concerns have been raised about the fraudulent practices of some American companies trading on the market.
Allegations of fraud in large American companies have made news. But stories such as these don't just affect high-profile people on Wall Street.
Regular folks who invest in companies with fraudulent practices can lose their entire life savings. Large-scale fraud also undermines everyone's confidence in the market system.
Uncovering fraud usually results in the public crying out for higher ethical standards and a crackdown on lawbreakers in the stock market. Many people don't know that there are already watchdogs for the stock market trade who fight against this type of fraud every day.
Each state has a similar securities agency headed by a securities administrator. It's this person's job to regulate activity in the market, to establish fair trading rules and to enforce regulations.
"We take action against fraud," explains Michael Bernard. He is the manager of communications and education for a securities commission. "We can ban companies from the market. We do have the power to impose fines and to kick companies off the market."
Brad Skolnik is a securities commissioner in Indiana. He says that getting rid of fraud is one of the better parts of the job.
"An enjoyable facet of this work is that we are able to help people who have lost money in the hands of con artists," he says. "If we're not successful in getting back the money, we at least bring the culprits to justice."
In most cases, securities administrators can only impose fines and ban companies from the market. They can't send frauds to jail.
"We set sanctions against people who violate the law," says Deborah Bortner. She is a securities administrator in Washington. "We can fine them, order restitution, tell them they can't be in the industry and can take away a person's license."
Only a few securities agencies in the United States have the power to send con artists to jail. "In Alabama, they have the authority to press criminal charges," says Bortner.
Securities administrators spend much of their time preventing fraud by creating a fair and open market. They do this in a number of different ways. They regulate people who work as investment advisors. They make sure that companies are being open and honest with the information they're providing to investors.
"For instance, if the CEO of a company drops dead of a heart attack, we expect that the company will inform investors because this could have a real impact on the company," says Bernard.
Because securities directors generally have a large staff of detectives, accountants and corporate analysts working for them, they are involved in office administration.
"People in the investigative end try to figure out where the money went," explains Bortner. "It's a big puzzle and we need a bunch of people to help pull all that information together."
Of course, the office also needs someone to manage the personnel and steer the general direction of the investigation. "My part of the work is very administrative," says Bortner, who has been working in her position for more than 20 years. She enjoys analyzing the bigger picture in the investing world.
"But I also have to do things like sit down this afternoon and figure out where we are going to move our office," she says. "That isn't the most interesting part of the story."
Skolnik agrees that much of an administrator's time is taken up with office issues. "Managing the entire staff and dealing with personnel issues can take up a lot of time," he says. "I deal with a wide variety of issues."
Security administrators also have the important function of directing and re-examining ongoing investigations. They look at the bigger picture, such as the effects of nationwide investment fraud.
"We have the power to be able to help people," says Skolnik.
"I spend my day looking at national issues -- for example, with companies restating their earnings," says Bortner. "I am figuring out what to do about it and what impact it may have here. I am lucky to be able to look at and analyze the bigger picture."