Eric Schuppenhauer Named as Senior Advisor to the Commission's Chief Accountant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2004-63

Washington, D.C., May 11, 2004 -- Donald T. Nicolaisen, the Commission's Chief Accountant, announced today that Eric J. Schuppenhauer has been named to serve in the SEC Office of the Chief Accountant as senior advisor.

In this capacity, Schuppenhauer will advise the chief accountant on strategy and areas of risk that need to be pursued as part of the office's agenda, with a specific focus on new initiatives related to disclosure, including exploring the implementation of 'tagged' data in Commission filings. Schuppenhauer will also continue to work on the Commission's initiative to propose new rules related to asset-backed securities and to work with those government sponsored enterprises seeking to register under the Exchange Act.

Nicolaisen said: "I am very pleased that Eric has decided to stay on and pursue this very important work in the interest of investors. Given his experience in practice coupled with his knowledge of the Commission gained during his Professional Accounting Fellowship, I believe Eric will provide invaluable service to the Commission and to investors."

Alan Beller, Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, said: "Eric has been very valuable in our asset-backed rulemaking initiative and I look forward to his continuing involvement with this important project and his work on risk assessment and tagged financial data."

Schuppenhauer, 33, is completing his second year of a two-year fellowship in the Office of the Chief Accountant during which time he has primarily focused on accounting and reporting matters related to the financial services industry and financial instruments. Prior to joining the Commission, Schuppenhauer spent ten years at KPMG.

Schuppenhauer graduated in 1992 from the University of Virginia.