Bowman's Accounting Report, a monthly trade publication, had fallen almost six months behind schedule, said Martha H. Sawyer, president of Hudson Sawyer, the firm that publishes the newsletter.

"It has fallen behind in timeliness, and we were concerned about that," Sawyer said. The staff has been "working diligently to get it back on schedule," she added, and has nearly caught up.

The publisher announced Bowman's departure of the eve of the Fourth of July, saying he was leaving "to pursue other interests." Sawyer would not say whether Bowman had the option of keeping his job or who initiated his departure.

Asked if he could have stayed at Bowman's Accounting Report, Bowman said, "Perhaps."

"We just had some disagreements about what I should be doing and how I should be doing it," said Bowman, who helped found the newsletter in 1987. "There are things I want to do that I was restricted from doing," he said, adding that he felt "unleashed."

Bowman said he has developed consulting relationships with accounting firms and has speaking engagements scheduled into next year.

"It's clear that for a while now, Art has been focused on pursuing more speaking opportunities and consulting engagements," said Tracey-Miller Segarra, editor of WebCPA, an online publicaton for accountants, who wrote [Monday] about Bowman's departure.

"I think there were some people covering the profession who thought, 'What kind of journalistic integrity is that?'" said Jonathan Hamilton, editor of Public Accounting Report, another rival publication. "If you're covering a profession, you should not be drawing a check from people you're covering."

Bowman gained the greatest visibility of his career during the scandals that destroyed the accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP and inspired Congress to impose new restrictions on corporate auditors. Bowman said he appeared on national television more than 50 times last year and twice in the preceding 22 years.

One thrust of the new regulations was to restrict auditors' work as consultants to the companies they audit. Lawmakers and other critics argued that auditors had gotten too close to their audit clients.

Sawyer said her firm helped market Bowman's services and had no objection to his consulting work. The firm's Web site says Sawyer and Bowman advise accounting firms on crisis communications, marketing and other business issues.

"Art's got something like 30 years of journalistic experience behind him, and believe me, neither he nor I would jeopardize our integrity for the sake of a small consulting fee," Sawyer said.

Bowman said a former chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants questioned his independence after hearing about a recent conference Bowman held with another accounting executive and former AICPA chairman.

Bowman said he answered, "You know me, I am independent of everyone."

The publication will continue to go by Bowman's name, Sawyer said.

-- David S. Hilzenrath