Improper accounting? It feels so 2002! And that might not be a coincidence. The SEC under enforcement chief Robert Khuzami is trying to close cases older than three years unless they are critical to the agency’s program. The goal is to clear out the pipeline so attorneys can work on current cases, although one person familiar with the matter said that wasn’t a consideration in this case.

“GE bent the accounting rules beyond the breaking point,” said Robert Khuzami, in a prepared statement. “Overly aggressive accounting can distort a company’s true financial condition and mislead investors.”

GE agreed to pay the fine without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations. “We are committed to the highest standards of accounting,” said GE spokeswoman Anne Eisele. “While this has been a difficult and costly process, our controllership processes have been strengthened as a result, and GE is a stronger company today.”

Investors in GE lost money due to these illegal and immoral practices and the government gets to keep the fines. Who are they real victims here?

The sad fact is, this stuff is still going on in other corporations, they just haven’t been caught yet.

Rules of accounting and laws were put into place to prevent this but it happens anyway. Where money is concerned the only law that seems applicable is ‘do what you can get away with’. This is proof that the federal government can never regulate human behavior.