MEMORANDUM 

From: Caryn Kauffman 

 Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 

Subject: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) FY2020 Conference Report 

Date: November 16, 2020 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum M-12-12, as amended by memorandum 

M-17-08, requires federal agencies to issue an annual report related to its conference-related expenditures 

for the previous fiscal year. This document constitutes the SEC’s report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. The 

number and cost of conference activity in FY 2020 was significantly reduced due to the global 

coronavirus pandemic. 

The SEC has put in place policies and procedures governing the approval and use of agency funds for 

conference expenses, to ensure that such spending is legal, reasonable, and in furtherance of the agency’s 

mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. 

At a high level, the major steps in this process are as follows: 

1. All SEC division/office requests to spend money on hosting a conference must be approved by 

the division/office head or his/her designee. Divisions and offices are required to use SEC 

facilities for such events, whenever possible, to minimize space rental and equipment costs. In 

order to limit expenses for meals or refreshments, the SEC uses per diem rates established for 

the federal government as the ceiling for any such costs, except when higher rates are 

unavoidable or otherwise justified. The acquisition of any goods, services, or meeting space is 

subject to the applicable policies and regulations which govern these areas. 

2. When a request for funds is necessary and has received approval from the division/office head, 

it is reviewed by staff in the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to ensure the expenses 

are permissible under the applicable polices and regulations. OFM has implemented an 

automated system for the submission, review, and approval of all SEC conference requests 

that enables OFM to monitor and control conference spending, as well as record actual 

conference spending after a conference has been held. 

3. Each request must receive final approval from designated officials according to the total 

projected cost. These designations comply with OMB Memorandum 12-12. 

4. The SEC is reporting conferences which meet thresholds defined in P.L.116-93 Division E, 

Title VII, Sections 738 (a), (b), and (c), to the SEC’s Office of Inspector General via separate 

correspondence. 

For FY 2020, the SEC authorized 51 conferences (including training conferences) with costs totaling 

$417,261. 

Attachment 

 
ATTACHMENT 1 

2 

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 

FY 2020 Conference Activity Report 

Conferences over $100,000: 

In FY 2020, the SEC authorized one conference costing greater than $100,000, which is described below: 

A. 2020 Annual Leadership Conference for the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations 

(OCIE), SEC Headquarters, Washington DC, November 5-6, 2019 

x Cost incurred1

: $223,423 

x Number of attendees: 268 (268 SEC attendees) 

 

1

 Figures reported in whole dollars.