virginian: The barring of CEO's, CFO's, etc, is standard, and rightfully so. Anyone found guilty of the stuff that RA was found guilty of should be kept away from any further responsibilities. Even when such people settle SEC charges, the barring is standard.
As for the fines against the company, well there I have mixed feelings. Much of the financial penalty has to do with preventing a company from keeping ill-gotten funds, which I can understand. The rest, which is fines on top of that, seems excessive to me. I understand that it may be a way of sending a message to board members and other officers at other corporations that turning a blind eye to malfeasance will be costly to their company, but I still find it somewhat troubling that a company must pay such a heavy price for an officer's actions.
It should be noted, though, that company penalties are far less costly in cases where offenders plead out rather than go through a trial they had no chance of winning.
As for the fines being excessive compared to some shorters who have gotten caught, again, in those cases, the offenders took a plea. Had they fought a losing court battle, the resulting penalties would have been much higher.
