[T]he staff expects that the rules will be complied with. If the rules are violated, unless covered by the inadvertent violation exception, independence will be deemed to be impaired. . . The rules are clear and the staff does not intend to grant noaction relief where clear lines have been drawn.
Lynn E. Turner, Chief Accountant of the SEC
Speech on December 6, 2000.
After long consideration amid a great deal of controversy, the Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted amendments to its rules concerning auditor independence. These amendments are contained in Release No. 337919 (November 21, 2000). The amendments reflect a compromise between certain of the largest accounting firms and the SEC, which initially favored outright prohibitions on the provision of certain non-audit services by accounting firms to their publicly-owned audit clients. The final rule bars audit firms from providing a few specified non-audit services to their publicly-owned audit clients, allows them
