It has been widely reported that Paul Atkins, a former SEC Commissioner and current CEO of Patomak Partners, is the point person in Donald Trump’s transition team for financial regulatory appointments. This is an encouraging sign.

Atkins, a Vanderbilt Law School Grad, was an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008. During his stint at the Commission he gained a reputation for challenging excessive regulations that impede growth and harm consumers. He has become a consistent critic of Dodd-Frank, a bill that many policy makers on both sides of the aisle recognize as problematic and institutionalizing too big to fail. According to WSJ.com;

“At the SEC, Mr. Atkins repeatedly criticized the scope of financial regulation, which he warned often came at the expense of market competition and could lead to unforeseen consequences.”

Atkins is a firm believer in accountability for corporate executives. He would rather punish the individuals that “cooked the books” instead of punishing shareholders who are the people they are supposed to be helping.

This past April (2016), Atkins testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets. At this time he shared his philosophy on small business and the JOBS Act – the legislation that legalized investment crowdfunding.

Atkins stated;