The conviction of business woman Martha Stewart this afternoon may bring the issue of investment security closer to home, a Baker University professor said.

A jury found Stewart guilty on four counts related to her selling of ImClone Systems, Inc. stock in December, 2001.

AP story: Martha Stewart convicted of all counts in stock-trading trial

“I think her familiarity through the various businesses that she has developed bring this to the public’s consciousness in a way that Enron, for example, doesn’t,” said Kevin McCarthy, associate professor of business and economics at Baker University. “I think her familiarity makes the issue more accessible.”

Business leaders and the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, which protects investors and markets, have been working to improve regulation, stop insider trading, and prevent stocks and securities fraud.

The challenge in improving regulations, McCarthy said, is enforcing those regulations. Stewart’s conviction “probably does not increase the confidence of investors in how our markets work,” McCarthy said.