Under the Clinton Administration, the AICPA was one of many groups to oppose the Securities and Exchange Commission's push to separate auditing and consulting services. It took the Enron fiasco to change the association's mind. Joining the party, Big Five firm KPMG backed down last week, as well, and PricewaterhouseCoopers announced it will severe ties completely with its management-consulting firm, PwC Consulting.

In a letter to more than 340,000 AICPA members, the association's leadership -- President and CEO Barry Melancon and Board Chairman James Castellano -- stated the board "approved a resolution to support prohibitions on auditors of public companies from providing financial systems design and implementation and internal audit outsourcing in order to restore the public's confidence in the financial reporting system."

The letter also stated that the AICPA "will work with the SEC to strengthen regulation of the profession as it implements a system that incorporates active public participation to enhance discipline and quality monitoring."

Utilizing the heightened public interest in the accounting profession's woes, the AICPA intends to continue with its student recruiting initiatives and will not delay the launch of its student Web site, it said.

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