The Securities and Exchange Commission's focus on preventing Ponzi schemes may be detracting from the agency's focus on corporate accounting fraud, according to a Forbes article by Francine McKenna. The article points out that the SEC's record 735 enforcement actions in fiscal 2011 included just 89 that involved public companies whose accounting or disclosures were misleading or fraudulent.

The SEC has been investigating violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and has fined big companies for such violations. But McKenna argues that FCPA charges have little impact on a company's stock, unlike allegations of accounting fraud.