Chatov, Robert, WILLIAM O. DOUGLAS ON THE TRANSFER OF THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION'S AUTHORITY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF RULES FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING, Accounting historians journal , 13(2), 1986, pp. 125-129
As an SEC Commissioner, William O. Douglas favored active SEC participation in the development of rules of accounting for financial reporting under the Securities Acts. A retrospective letter dated September 29, 1973 indicates that the pre-War SEC Commission did not contemplate the virtually complete transfer to the private sector of the authority for development of corporate financial reporting that characterizes the position of today's SEC.