FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  98-98

     SEC, NYSE, and NASD Announce Members of Blue Ribbon
       Committee To Improve Corporate Audit Committees
                                           
     Washington, D.C., October 6, 1998 -- The Securities and
Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange and the
National Association of Securities Dealers today announced
the names of the individuals who will serve on the "blue
ribbon" panel created to make recommendations on
strengthening the role of audit committees in overseeing the
corporate financial reporting process.  This action was
taken in response to recent concerns expressed by SEC
Chairman Arthur Levitt about the adequacy of the oversight
of the audit process by independent corporate directors.

     The panel will be co-chaired by John C. Whitehead,
former Deputy Secretary of State and retired Co-Chairman and
Senior Partner of Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Ira M. Millstein,
Senior Partner of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP and a noted
corporate governance expert.  The other panel members will
be:

 * John H. Biggs, Chairman, President & CEO, TIAA-CREF;
 
 * Frank J. Borelli, Senior Vice President, CFO & Director,
   Marsh & McLennan Companies;

 * Charles A. Bowsher, Former Comptroller General of the U.S.;

 * Dennis D. Dammerman, Senior Vice President - Finance & CFO,
   General Electric Company;

 * Richard A. Grasso, Chairman & CEO, New York Stock Exchange;

 * Philip A. Laskawy, Chairman & CEO, Ernst & Young LLP;
 
 * James J. Schiro, CEO, PricewaterhouseCoopers;
 
 * William C. Steere, Jr., Chairman & CEO, Pfizer; and

 * Frank G. Zarb, Chairman & CEO, National Association of
   Securities Dealers.

     SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt said of the panel, "This top-
notch group of corporate and industry leaders is well-
positioned to examine the workings of the corporate audit
committee and to make concrete recommendations for its
improvement.  I thank each of these members for their time
and commitment to this important undertaking."

     "I'm honored to work with this distinguished group on
this important issue," said co-chair Ira M. Millstein.  "By
collaborating with leaders from the SRO's, the accounting
profession, the corporate and banking sectors, the
institutional investment community and former government 
officials, we hope to forge credible, practical and real 
guidance on how to improve the effectiveness of corporate 
audit committees.  We are, of course, planning to solicit 
views on this subject from the interested community."

     The committee will undertake an intensive study of the
effectiveness of audit committees in discharging their
oversight responsibilities and, within 90 days, make
concrete recommendations for improvement.  The panel's
recommendations may include changes to listing standards
with respect to the role and composition of audit
committees, changes to the auditing standards with respect
to how auditors and audit committees interact, new corporate
disclosure requirements, and a formulation of "best
practices."

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