NEWS

House Votes to Block Auditor Independence Rule

admin | July 10, 2013

Monday, the House voted 321-62 in favor of the Auditor Integrity and Job Protection Act, a bill to block regulators from enacting a rule designed to improve the independence and objectivity of auditing firms that review the books of publicly traded companies.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a private watchdog created by Congress in response to the Enron accounting scandal, has been considering a rule requiring companies to use different auditors on a rotating basis. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the Board has grown increasingly critical of major auditing firms, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and Deloitte & Touch, for accepting information and evidence provided to them by corporate management without conducting a sufficient independent inquiry.

Data: MapLight analysis of campaign contributions to members of the House of Representatives from supporting interests from January 1, 2011 - December 31, 2012. Contributions data source: OpenSecrets.org

Interests supporting the bill (including accountants, security brokers, and biotech companies) have given 138 times more money to members of the House than interests opposing (including unions and consumer groups).

(including accountants, security brokers, and biotech companies) have given to members of the House than interests opposing (including unions and consumer groups). Representatives voting "YES" on the bill received, on average, 66 percent more money from supporting interests than Representatives voting "NO."

on the bill received, on average, from supporting interests than Representatives voting "NO." Co-sponsors of the bill have received, on average, 2.4 times more money from supporting interests than the average raised by all members of the House.

Image: Anticapitalistes.net