“The culture of the agency is changing. It doesn’t happen overnight,” Schapiro told the lawmakers. “We’re working very hard at the SEC … to rebuild the agency’s credibility.”

SEC Chairman Mary Shapiro

Quick follow-up to yesterday’s post about increased DOJ enforcement of FCPA, the AP is reporting today that the SEC is looking to increase its budget for next year by 12 percent, to $1.3B. Also, Shapiro says we “would be safe to assume” the agency will be trying to restore its reputation by retroactively getting tough on firms involved in the financial debacle. This stance is timely given the 2200 page post-mortem recently published on Lehman Brothers claiming the firm used sophisticated gimmicks to hide its mounting losses.

Budget increases and an agency with something to prove –  this is what increased regulatory enforcement looks like. Be ready.

UPDATE: Even more evidence of the intention to increase enforcement at the SEC – the same testimony, Shapiro said that the SEC is going to create a state-of-the-art computer forensics lab.