|  | | 2005 News and Press Releases | | |
HEADLINE NEWS:
SEC Seeks Simpler Accounting Rules Cox Bemoans Lack Of Competition Among Auditors
Staff Writer – Marketwatch
Securities Mosaic. December 5, 2005
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EXCERPT: Complex accounting rules should be simplified to make sure financial irregularities aren't hidden in a "thicket of details," said Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Speaking to an industry group for accountants Monday, he said that the current accounting rules have become "a sword to be wielded" against investors, rather than a shield to protect them. Cox told the American Institute for Certified Public Accountants that the SEC and other regulators are "looking for recommendations on how to make the rules and their application much more clear, straightforward and transparent." Read his speech. "The accounting scandals that our nation and the world have now mostly weathered were made possible in part by the sheer complexity of the rules," Cox added. The SEC chairman also bemoaned a lack of competition among auditors, saying that just four firms audit 80% of all public companies accounting for 99% of corporate revenues. Since Andersen was forced out of business in 2002 by the Justice Department, the auditing industry has been reduced to the Big Four: Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. |
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