WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has named Leslie F. Seidman as a new Public Governor. Ms. Seidman previously served as Chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) from 2010 to 2013, having been appointed to the FASB as a Board member in 2003. As Chairman of the FASB, Ms. Seidman was responsible for managing the organization's day-to-day activities and leading the FASB's efforts to develop high-quality financial reporting standards that result in decision-useful information for investors and other users of financial statements.
Ms. Seidman was also recently named Executive Director of the new Center for Excellence in Financial Reporting at Pace University's Lubin School of Business and to the Board of Directors of Moody's Corporation. Ms. Seidman, a CPA (inactive), earned an M.S. degree in accounting from New York University Stern School of Business and a B.A. degree in English from Colgate University.
"On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to welcome Leslie Seidman as our new Public Governor. Leslie's broad range of accounting expertise and extensive knowledge of the financial services industry will prove to be invaluable resources to FINRA as we continue our work to protect investors and ensure market integrity," said Richard Ketchum, FINRA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
FINRA is overseen by a 24-person Board of Governors, with 13 seats held by Public Governors and 10 by Industry Governors. FINRA's CEO has the remaining seat. FINRA Governors are appointed or elected to three-year terms and may not serve more than two consecutive terms.
FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business – from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms, writing rules, enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws, informing and educating the investing public, providing trade reporting and other industry utilities, and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and firms. For more information, please visit www.finra.org.