The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission plans to build upon the establishment and successes of its Office of the Whistleblower, the agency said Monday in its proposed strategic plan for fiscal years 2014-2018.

In the plan, which was released for public comment, the SEC said it will “continue to encourage individuals and entities with timely, credible and specific information about potential securities law violations to provide information to the commission to further investigations and promote more efficient use of the commission's limited resources.”

The plan notes that under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC is required to compensate eligible whistle-blowers with an award of 10% to 30% of amounts collected as a result of original information leading to successful enforcement action that results in monetary sanctions exceeding $1 million.

Rewards issued by the SEC to date include one for more than $14 million issued last year.

A speaker at a session of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society's annual D&O Symposium in New York last week warned that whistle-blowers are a major emerging issue facing business.

The whistle-blower initiative, which is listed under a strategic objective to promote, detect and deter violations of the federal securities law, is one of more than 70 initiatives listed in the plan.

The draft plan was prepared in accordance with the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010, which requires federal agencies to outline their missions, planned initiatives, and performance goals for a five-year period, The SEC said in a statement.

Other strategic objectives listed in the plan are:

• Establish and maintain an effective regulatory environment.

• Foster and enforce compliance with the federal securities laws.

• Facilitate access to the information investors need to make informed investment decisions.

• Enhance the Commission's performance through effective alignment and management of human, information and financial capital.

Copies of the 39-page strategic plan are available here. Comments should be emailed to performanceplanning@sec.gov by March 10, 2014.