Yes, something like SOX (although one can argue that SOX, which was born of Enron, didn't stop the GFC or Maddoff). I think there's also a place for government

Yes, something like SOX (although one can argue that SOX, which was born of Enron, didn't stop the GFC or Maddoff). I think there's also a place for government to perhaps 'accelerate' the market to encourage certain behaviours by either creating financial incentives/disincentives. This can be in the form of grants etc. In that case, giving money to researchers in the domain would make sense - on the basis that they are more likely to understand what's technically required than a government public servant. And to your point regarding beauracrats: someone has to manage and oversee regulatory frameworks. Voluntary frameworks with no oversight at all are a figleaf. We can argue about the number/cost but we shouldn't be arguing about the need, assuming we agree on the need for regulatory frameworks in the first place.