Chief executives and top managers will be seen more on the front lines when SEC examiners show up in brokerage offices for exams and investigations.  The SEC says they are involving the higher ups as a way to get more respect for chief compliance officers. The SEC will now require securities firm executives to be involved in routine compliance exams - so as not to leave the details entirely to compliance officers.  Of course, this would be a departure from past practice, because CCOs have always been the main (and sometimes the only) contact point  for SEC staff during an examination. Having other executives prepare speaking with regulators about compliance issues should help reinforce a firm's compliance culture at the highest level of management, noted Kevin Goodman, associate regional director of examinations in the SEC's Denver office.  [C-I Note: Shades of Lori Richardson, former OCIE Director, who was the biggest proponent of reinforcing "Cultures of Compliance" at firms.  She was quite inspirational.] It could also help bolster the role of compliance officers.  All too often, while head compliance officers have the 'bark' (executive title), they don't have the 'bite" (lack authority or support from top executives) to carry out the many pols and procedures that regulators require. It's not that SEC examiners didn't or couldn't talk with CEOs and other management-types, it's just that they didn''t unless they had a special reason.  This ostensibly sent the message that CEOs weren't on the hook for a firm's compliance culture. According to the SEC, the new emphasis on executive input doesn't mean the agency is out to get executives.   [C-I Note: Although that certainly is more likely when management becomes more exposed to regulators - especially, if they say the wrong things.]  Instead, the agency wants to see that executives are being actively involved in compliance matters.    [Reuters, 10/14/11]