Independence of accountants: Guidelines and examples of situations involving the independence of accountants

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the publication of an additional release in its Accounting Series on the subject of the independence of the certifying accountant. The primary purpose of this release is to set forth presently existing guidelines employed by the Commission in resolving the various independence questions that come before it. This release, therefore, is not intended to supersede Accounting Series Release No. 47 issued on January 25, 1944, or No. 81 issued on December 11, 1958, but should be read as complementing and implementing further the policy developed in those prior releases. However, to the extent that any inconsistency exists between these prior releases and the release presented herein, the latter should be regarded as indicative of the Commission\u27s current position