FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                   2000-111

   Two Additional Public Hearings On Auditor Independence Rule
                            Proposal
                 Set For September 13th and 20th

     Washington, DC, August 10, 2000 -- The Securities and
Exchange Commission today announced that it will conduct its
second and third public hearings on its proposed auditor
independence rules on September 13, 2000 and September 20, 2000.

What:  The Commission will conduct the second and third of three
hearings to solicit the views of the public on its proposal to
modernize the auditor independence rules.

When: Wednesday, September 13, 2000, 9:00 a.m. and Wednesday,
September 20, 2000, 9:00 a.m.

Where:  The September 13th hearing will take place in New York
City and the September 20th hearing will take place in
Washington, DC; exact locations will be announced soon.

Testimony:  Any member of the public wishing to testify at the
hearing must submit a written request to the Commission, which
must be received by August 25, 2000.  Persons requesting to
testify must submit three copies of their oral statement or a
summary of their intended testimony to the Commission, which must
be received by September 5, 2000.  (Those who do not wish to
appear at the hearings, but want their views included in the
public file, may submit written comments by September 25, 2000.)

     Requests to testify, oral statements or summaries, and
written comments should be mailed to Jonathan G. Katz, Secretary,
Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20459 or submitted electronically at rule-
comments@sec.gov.  The words "Request to Testify" should be
clearly noted on the subject line of the request.  All requests
and other submissions also should refer to Comment File No. S7-13-
00.

Format:  After September 5, 2000, the Commission will publish a
schedule of witnesses.  Based on the number of requests received,
the Commission may not be able to accommodate all requests to
testify at the two hearings.  The Commission also may limit the
time for formal presentations or group presentations into a
series of panels.  Time will be reserved for members of the
Commission and Commission staff to pose questions to each witness
concerning his or her testimony as well as other matters
pertaining to the rule proposal.  Jonathan G. Katz, Secretary of
the Commission, will serve as the hearing officer.

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Summary of Rulemaking:  The proposals modernize the Commission's
auditor independence requirements by providing governing
principles for determining whether an auditor is independent in
light of: investments by auditors or their family members in
audit clients, employment relationships between auditors or their
family members and audit clients, and the scope of services
provided by audit firms to their audit clients.

     The proposals would, among other things:

     --Significantly reduce the number of audit firm employees
and their family members whose investments in audit clients are
attributed to the auditor;
     
     --Identify certain non-audit services that, if provided to
an audit client, would impair an auditor's independence.  (The
scope of services proposals would not extend to services provided
to non-audit clients.);
     
     --Provide a limited exception for accounting firms that have
certain quality controls and satisfy other conditions; and
     
     --Require companies to disclose in their annual proxy
statements certain information about, among other things, non-
audit services provided by their auditors during the last fiscal
year.

Contacts:  John M. Morrissey, Deputy Chief Accountant and W.
Scott Bayless, Associate Chief Accountant, Office of the Chief
Accountant at (202) 942-4400.

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