A dozen Democrats, including Rep. Patrick Kenney, D-R.I, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, issued a letter Thursday urging House appropriators to support an amendment to delay action on Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed auditor independence rule, according to a Dow Jones report. Nearly two dozen House Republicans made a similar written request.

At the core of the controversy is SEC's proposal to modernize auditor independence rules, limiting the services audit firms could provide to their audit clients. The proposal has rattled the profession, drawing criticism from many including the American Institute of CPAs and three of the Big Five firms. PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young submitted a proposal of their own.

Opponents, who have been anything but silent, believe the proposal would decay audit quality, prevent firms from attracting talent and perhaps force accounting firms to sell their consulting businesses.

In an effort to gather public comment and testimony, the SEC established a 75-day comment period. Within those 75 days, the SEC received more than 3,000 comment letters and held four public hearings. The comment period ended Sept. 25.

The SEC is currently reviewing the comment letters, evaluating testimony and meeting with the heads of the Big Five firms, as well as the AICPA, in hopes of tailoring a rule that "will be responsive to the various inputs," SEC chairman Arthur Levitt recently told SmartPros in an audio interview. He said he suspects a final rule will develop over the next 30 to 60 days.

To listen to SmartPros' exclusive audio interview with Levitt, click here.

-- SmartPros News Staff

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