Whilst not casting any aspersions on individuals or its recently appointed officials but on the institution overall, analysts lamented that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had waited nearly 10 years to warn HDL of legal action for not submitting audited accounts since 1990 (akin to being pound foolish) but when a major shareholder-director sought for extra time to study the eventually finalised financials the regulator had been too stringent (penny wise).
http://www.ft.lk/2011/04/11/sec-pound-foolish-and-penny-wise/