In response to the Enron mess that has caused a huge stir in the accounting community, Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Harvey Pitt announced last week that the SEC intends to work with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to form an independent policing group, composed of non-industry members, that will conduct rigorous reviews of the largest firms' audits and would have the authority to discipline accountants for incompetence and ethics violations. The SEC had been in talks with the AICPA, the SEC Practice Section, and Big Five representatives for some time regarding the formation of such a board, but the POB was left out of these discussions.

In a letter from POB Chair Charles Bowsher addressed to Harvey Pitt, the POB made it clear that it felt slighted. The panel said the "decision was made reluctantly, but members of the Board felt we had no other recourse."

The letter continued: "It was obvious from your remarks at the press conference on January 17th that the proposals for changing the system of self-regulation of the accounting profession do not include a place for the POB. . . It is significant that there was no consultation with the POB, which is charged with representing the public interest, before these proposed changes were announced. 

The POB set March 31 as the termination date to allow for transition of its responsibilities.