Simona Mola

Principal

Contact

  • Washington

Education

Simona Mola conducts financial and economic analyses in complex commercial litigation and regulatory proceedings. Dr. Mola manages teams to support expert witness testimony in all stages of litigation, including deposition and trial. Across a range of Rule 10b-5/Section 11 securities litigation, she addresses issues related to disclosure requirements, tracing, financial reporting, corporate governance, and executive compensation. In addition, Dr. Mola has expertise with economic issues involving cryptocurrency, initial coin offerings (ICOs), blockchain use cases, and token economies. She has published on Bitcoin, crypto, and other Fintech-related issues.

Dr. Mola has more than two decades of experience in consulting, government, and academia. She served as assistant director and senior policy advisor at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). At the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA), she led and developed numerous economic analyses for high-profile rulemakings and policy projects related to corporate finance, disclosure requirements, capital formation, corporate governance and executive compensation, auditing, broker-dealers, and credit rating agencies.

Before joining the SEC, Dr. Mola was an assistant professor of finance at Arizona State University. Her research has been published in the Accounting Review, the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and the Journal of Behavioral Finance. Dr. Mola regularly presents at domestic and international conferences, and has been honored with two best paper awards.

Report

Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Activity

Report

SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Activity—Year in Review: FY 2023

Press Release

Spike in Fourth Quarter SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Activity Results in Notable Increase in FY 2023

Report

SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement: 2023 Update

Press Release

SEC Enforcement of Cryptocurrency Reaches a New High

Event

FMA’S 32nd Legal and Legislative Conference

Report

Trends in CFTC Virtual Currency Enforcement Actions

Event

A Look at the Crypto Ecosystem: The Rising Risks and Emerging Markets

  • “New Developments in the SEC’s Executive Compensation Rules,”The Knowledge Group, 10 May 2023
  • “Digital Assets and Cryptocurrency: Regulation and Enforcement of Exchanges, Crypto Lending, DeFi, NFTs and Stablecoins,”Securities Enforcement Forum East 2022, 15 November 2022
  • “What the DOJ’s New Cryptocurrency Task Force Means for Your Firm: Key Trends and Risk Mitigation Strategies,” The Knowledge Group, 24 June 2022
  • The Future of Cryptocurrency: Exploring Current and Anticipated Trends,” The Knowledge Group, 8 February 2022
  • “SEC Division Reports,” FMA’s 30th Legal and Legislative Conference, 22 October 2021
  • “Trends and Updates on Initial Coin Offering (ICO) Regulation: Hot Buttons Explored,” The Knowledge Group, 10 September 2021
  • “Cryptocurrency: DOJ’s Enforcement Framework and the Current Regulatory Landscape,” Strafford webinar, 16 December 2020
  • “Trends and Developments on Executive Compensation: A Comprehensive Guide to Avoid Potential Threats,” webinar, 9 November 2020
  • “SEC’s Heightened Enforcement of Cryptocurrency,” The Knowledge Group, 3 June 2020