Although only two associations were asked to discuss, this writer felt it was important to discuss the SEC as they are directly connected to FINRA as they accept litigation cases and fraud cases from FINRA and follow up if safety laws or criminal laws have been violated. Once the offense has been investigated, it proceeds with the corrective action most suited to the crime, without excluding criminal proceedings and prison. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission website (2014), the mission of the SEC is “to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.” The SEC was created to ensure that all investors, large or small, have a fair and impartial account of a company's transactions and the current state of affairs. How They Shape the Industry Since FINRA and the SEC both play a much larger role in shaping the industry we will start with them and then conclude with the CBBB. The importance of how it shapes the industry is the reasoning behind this process. So what exactly does FINRA do and how does it relate to the SEC? The first thing FINRA does is enforce regulations and laws to discourage illegal behavior. According to the FINRA website (2014): “FINRA's mission is to safeguard the investing public from fraud and bad practices. We pursue this mission by writing and enforcing rules and regulations for every single broker-dealer firm in the United States and by examining broker-dealers for compliance with our own rules, the federal securities laws, and the rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.” . FINRA plays an SEC enforcement officer. FINRA (2014) investigates complaints filed by those who believe they are middle of paper, their managers and employees all act accordingly and fairly when selling products in the marketplace. According to Hekman (2011) in 2010 alone the BBB received over 25,000 consumer complaints and a near perfect success rate of 84% for creating a binding resolution for the consumer. This shows that it can help model ethical behavior in business, working with managers and customers to create a mutual understanding of the expectations of a company's general public. Conclusion In conclusion, these organizations help shape standards within the business community and help create trends through the enforcement of laws and regulations. Sometimes the three may even work in unison to help protect the general public by joining forces. Always strength in numbers. This is how all three organizations work independently, strength in numbers.