Have you received a letter from the SEC?

It seems the Securities and Exchange Commission has been on a letter writing binge. In the Sarbanes Oxley era, SEC-penned letters to registrants soared--from 624 in 2004 to 4,892 in 2006. But this year, the number dropped to just 2,571. Generally, the big surge before this year can perhaps be seen as the SEC aiming to communicate better with registrants. Revenue recognition got a lot of ink. So did internal controls. What to make of the big drop in 2007. It might be that the SEC has gone lax. Or does it reflect better accounting performances by registered companies? I'd tend to go with the latter.   

For more:
- here's an article from Financial Week