One day after the Commission voted unanimously to pass rules placing new boundaries on the consulting services audit firms can provide to audit clients, the SEC said it promoted ten staff members to a newly created position, senior assistant chief accountant, responsible for administering accounting disclosure policy and for the management of the accounting program for the individual offices under the direction of the Assistant Directors.

Under the new independence rules passed Wednesday, audit firms are allowed to perform up to 40 percent of an audit client's internal work. The regulations, which outline nine non-audit services deemed "inconsistent with an auditor's independence," allow auditors to provide IT consulting services, if a half-dozen criteria are met, and includes a provision excluding companies with less than $200 million in assets, and another requiring the disclosure of fees received for IT services.

"The creation of these positions emphasizes our commitment to accounting issues and our accounting program," said David B.H. Martin, director of the division of corporation finance.

The SEC employees promoted to senior assistant chief accountant are: James A. Allegretto, Joseph A. Foti, John M. Hartz, Dennis N. Muse, Carlos Pacho, Margery E. Reich, James B. Rosenberg, Barry W. Stem, Linda M. van Doorn, and Donald A. Walker Jr.

-- SmartPros News Staff

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