Understanding Foreign Issuer Reporting Enhancements (FIRE)

Ellie Bavaria is a Special Counsel, Office of International Corporate Finance, Division of Corporation Finance at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Her work includes: issuing interpretive guidance to foreign issuers on matters relating to the Federal securities laws; working on SEC rulemaking initiatives regarding foreign issuers; reviewing disclosure documents from foreign companies and sovereign issuers and participating in conferences and events to describe developments in the Federal securities laws. 

Ms. Bavaria also had previous roles at the Securities and Exchange Commission as Special Counsel in both the Office of Consumer Products and the Office of Natural Resources. Prior to returning to the SEC, Ms. Bavaria was a Counsel at the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering.

Karen Dietrich is an Assistant Director of International Affairs at the PCAOB. Her responsibilities include representing the Board in discussions with non-U.S. regulators, assisting in the development of the Board’s international policies and providing legal advice regarding the oversight of non-U.S. audit firms that operate in U.S. capital markets. 

Prior to joining the PCAOB, Ms. Dietrich practiced law with firms in Boston and Washington, D.C. She specialized in securities litigation, white collar criminal and civil enforcement matters, and complex commercial litigation. While in private practice, Ms. Dietrich worked on a number of cases involving allegations of accounting and auditor misconduct. Ms. Dietrich earned a B.A. with distinction and a J.D. with high honors, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was also a Morehead Scholar.

Bridgette is a Partner in the National Professional Standards Group with 20 years of experience in financial reporting and compliance combined with solid operational experience. Her focus pertains to SEC regulatory, financial reporting and compliance issues. Bridgette became the Partner in Charge of the SEC Regulatory Matters group during 2009. 

Bridgette began her career in the audit practice of a large public accounting firm. After three years, she left the public accounting profession to work in industry. Bridgette worked for 12 years in industry, all with publicly-traded companies ranging from entrepreneurial environments and foreign private issuers, to a Fortune 500 New York Stock Exchange listed company. Her industry experience includes educational software companies, a government contractor (aerospace and defense), and a hospitality real estate investment trust. 

Bridgette’s responsibilities have included compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (or GAAP) and SEC rules and regulations, including corporate-wide application of new accounting pronouncements, SEC regulatory filings, as well as corporate governance matters. At MeriStar Hospitality Corporation, she also assisted in the launch of an internal audit function and their Section 404 compliance program. Bridgette has experience in M&A and disposition activities, including due diligence work and technical application of appropriate GAAP. 

She has solid operational experience, having established and managed the corporate-wide functions of administration, accounting, treasury and human resources while employed by the educational software companies. 

Education: BS in Commerce, Concentration in Accounting, University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce